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 17
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The Domine had now served the Church for a quarter of a century. His salary had remained at the same figure. As time passed he had expended sums at various times for matters which were too small in themselves to bring to the attention of the Consistory. These now aggregated a considerable sum. It was recalled at the meeting held at the Church on August 4th that the pastor had performed a vast amount of extra labor which had contributed materially to
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his expenditure, and which became necessary by the constant liabilities of the large church estate to taxes and assessments and by the peculiar character of the population of Bloomingdale. The whole district north of 59th Street to and beyond the Church had at this period become a shanty town. That this may be realized to better advantage, a view has been pre- sented of this territory, showing the Church in the distance. This entire strip of land originally formed a portion of the Somerindyck farm. Great advan- tage had been reaped through the pastor's exertions, and property which, at the beginning of his ministry, was worth, irrespective of the buildings, possibly two thousand dollars had been thereby preserved. Its present value was thought to approximate fifty thousand dollars. It was estimated that five hundred dollars had been so spent, and this amount was handed him in payment of "a just debt." In consideration of the increased cost of living and of the fact that other employments had been remunerated by large additions to former compensations, together with the generally acknowledged principle of justice applied by the Saviour himself to the ministry, that "the laborer is worthy of his hire," with the additional behest of the Apostle Paul, to wit, "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel," an increase of salary was taken under advise- ment. After due consideration and conversation with members of the congregation, it was fixed at $2500 and the use of the parsonage, on February I, 186I.
The grading of Broadway cut the original bed of the Road so deep that the Church was left standing high above the curb. The greensward disappeared and
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steps were required for proper access. A new fence, stone walk, and wooden steps were constructed in January, 1861, at a cost of $400. In 1865, these wooden steps, having decayed, were replaced by stone ones. Robert Carss was elected Elder and George Robertson Deacon. So-called improvements, long in advance of need, kept on apace. Central Park was being laid out. Assessments, hill-high already, con- tinued to pile up toward the sky. Fortunate indeed was it that taxes on the church edifice itself could not be levied. By Subdivision 3 of Section 4, Title I, Chap- ter 13 of Part Ist of the Revised Statutes every build- ing for public worship and every schoolhouse or other seminary of learning were exempted from taxation. An amendment was passed April 14, 1852, limiting its provisions in the city of New York to buildings used exclusively for such purposes and exclusively the property of a religious society or of the New York Public School Society. In June of 1861 notice was re- ceived from the Commissioners of Estimate and Assess- ment of a lien for the opening of 68th Street. The Consistory passed a formal protest to be forwarded to said Commissioners against the urgency of such an ex- travagant and unreasonable enterprise in the present time of depression and embarrassment caused by the coming war. It was asserted that the land for the street had been ceded to the city by Jacob Harsen and that the residue of the property-owners between Broadway and Eighth Avenue were willing to deed property for the extension thereof, thereby rendering these proceedings unnecessary; that the plot assessed was used as a cemetery and was not susceptible to benefit, on which basis assessments can only be laid; that by State law it cannot be sold and by prohibitory
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ordinance of the Common Council cannot be used for burial purposes, and is therefor held in trust by the Church as a repository for the dead; that an assess- ment of this cemetery while it can derive no benefit would be manifestly unjust and would involve a liability to sale of the bones and dust solemnly de- posited there, which would be revolting to the sensitive or Christian mind. Domine van Aken and Elder Emmons were authorized and directed to take all necessary steps to oppose and stop the assessment for opening said street and to execute all necessary papers under the seal of the Church. This protest is given in detail because it serves as an example of the methods pursued in other cases in endeavors to avoid impending liens. The Common Council was induced after much labor to remit the taxes of 1860, '61, and '62 which the Mayor had ratified in January, 1863. The interest, however, had to be met. George H. Pimley and Jonas Hanaway were elected deacons at this session, the former in place of George Robertson. The Church was insured against fire in May, for $5000, and the parsonage for $ 1000-the first mention of such action in the minutes. Assessment for the grading of 7Ist Street from Broadway to Eighth Avenue was con- firmed October 9, 1864, and for grading Broadway from 59th to 7oth Streets, January 23, 1865. These dates are preserved as a matter of historic interest to the locality. Early in 1867, the construction of the Boulevard was undertaken. The straightening and widening of Broadway swung the bed of the new street much further to the east and made it necessary to demolish the church edifice. The pastor's talent now again came to the fore. He conferred with the authori- ties having the improvement in charge, gave a descrip-
Elga, Gratinar.
20 Cat 196x
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THE CHURCH AT HARSENVILLE, SECOND HOUSE OF WORSHIP, 1868 Showing the encroaching "shanty-town"
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tion of the property to be affected by it, and urged a fair and equitable consideration therefor, estimating the damages at $40,000 for the ground and $60,000 for the building.
Jonas Hanaway declined to serve longer as Deacon and on August 3, 1867, Charles Wood was elected. John K. Curtis became Elder. Emmons and Mitchell were re-elected. One of the mortgages was paid in January, 1868. The proceeds were invested in govern- ment bonds. Notice was received this month from the Commissioners of Estimate and Assessment, that an award of $23,000, for the realty required, was con- templated. Objection to the amount was speedily made. The Pastor and Emmons were deputized to present the communication. This they did to such advantage that Domine van Aken, Emmons, and Curtis were empowered in August to collect from the city the amount of $57,615 "made to the Church at Harsen- ville for the land taken for the opening of a Public Drive from 59th to 155th Streets, known on the Map of the Commissioners as Award No. 36." The money was received in September. After paying the arrears of taxes and assessments and the outstanding obliga- tions, nearly $41,000 remained. Thirty thousand dollars was invested in mortgages on real estate and the balance put at interest in different savings banks. The handling of this one transaction with the city exhibited to a nicety the Domine's shrewdness of man- agement. Some dissatisfaction was evinced by the Consistory of the Collegiate Church at the reception of the award without consultation with them and their consent. Two loans, made respectively in 1839 and 1847, were still owing them, and, although the terms under which the collateral was held provided that the
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debt fell due only in the event of the property being alienated from the denomination and was consequently not collectible at this time, the Church made a proposi- tion to pay the principal. The Consistory in town did not care to take the money and the other alternative arose of reviving one of the obligations. Accordingly permission was obtained from the Supreme Court to mortgage the land remaining after the widening of the Road. This instrument was to contain provisions that the amount shall be payable whenever the Church should cease to be subordinate to the General Synod and other intermediate judicatories of the Reformed Dutch Church in America, or whenever the said ground should be disposed of by the mortgagor. Before the new document was delivered, the pastor again endeavored to have the principal accepted in full satisfaction, which method was much preferred in order that future trouble be avoided. This plan was definitely declined and a bond and mortgage executed, bearing date June 24, 1870, was substituted for the original instrument. Thus this unhappy controversy was allayed for the present.
What was intended to be the last service was held on November 8, 1868. Mrs. Despard's account of this pathetic occasion begins with these words " To-day I went to hear the last sermon which would be preached in the Bloomingdale Church," and continues :
The city is about to take the ground on which it stands for the new Boulevard and Pastor van Aken closes the labors begun here in 1835. . . . In his discourse Mr. van Aken spoke most reverently of the first pastor, the Rev. Alexander Gunn, " an able preacher, faithful shepherd, and true historian. The author of the life of Dr. Livingston, with which was interwoven the history of the Reformed
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Dutch Church in America, he was a man of careful research and an unbiased narrator of facts, who understood well to blend and combine in such a manner as to impart pleasure to the reader, while he did full justice to his subject and imparted useful information." People came to worship here from below the old House of Refuge to Manhattanville and from the North to the East river. One of the earliest Sunday-schools was established here. "The present Sabbath-school of this church had its origin half a century back. It commenced about the beginning of Sabbath-schools in this city and had been perpetuated in unbroken succession. The church then was the centre of attraction and of influence in a large region." It was very touching to hear the aged minister describe the beauty of the natural surroundings of his beloved house of worship, "romantically situated, in its newness and freshness, on one of the most beautiful roads of the land, winding its way among stately trees interspersed with smaller growth and with flowers in their native charms in such great profusion as to suggest appropriately the name of Bloomingdale for the region which they graced. Then the verdant lawns, the pastures, the cultured grounds about the mansions of proprietors residing here, increased the charm and en- hanced the pleasure. The sweet tones of the bell resounded over many a soft green hill and pleasant homestead; and now," continued the white-haired preacher, " we part with all-the sacred house, the seats, the aisles, the desk-my own dear home, your doom is sealed. Here shall I speak no more to warn, entreat, intercede and console. Fare- well, dear walls, so well founded and so strong the storms of centuries might have left you unmoved. In this land of change and action there is no resting-place for the aged among humanity, for the venerable among their institu- tions, and only in looking upward to the everlasting hills can the spirit find its rest." The small congregation were very grave and still as we turned to leave the building and I pondered, sitting under the shadow of the great button-
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wood tree in the churchyard, on the contrast between the paradise of bloom and verdure amidst which the church was built and the forlorn state of transition upon which its last days were looking. In the railed square of this small burying ground we notice the tomb of James Striker, 1816; the family vault of the Rev. Alexander Gunn and Ichabod Prall-the remains of the deceased are removed, but the marble slabs remain. There are a few locust-trees, an apple-tree and a button-ball. The new Boulevard is being opened and much disturbance of rocks and trees ensues thereupon.
In the far-off past we too see again the gatherings of the quiet orderly congregation; we hear the voice of the good old father who ministered in holy things; we sit by the open window and look out upon the green graves thickly strewn round the old meeting-house; the warbling of the feathered songsters in the grove falls softly on memory's ear. The voice of prayer is hushed and the voice of praise ascends. Alas! these voices once attuned on earth are with scarce an exception now attuned to more celestial music.
It was found, however, that the edifice could remain intact a few months longer, and services continued to be held there until the first Sabbath in March, 1869, when the final one occurred. The furniture of the Church was removed in part to the parsonage and partly to "Rosevale," the residence of General Striker. The walls of the old edifice were so solid that dynamite was required to blast them asunder. Particles flew in all directions to the sorrow of the parishioners who stood about with no inclination to restrain their tears. With its quaint tower, surmounted by a cupola, once shaded by great trees and surrounded by green mounds and white head-stones of its quiet little churchyard,
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25 × 100 NEW LOT PURCHASED. IN 1888.
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OLD EASTERLY LINE OF BLOOMINGDALE ROAD.
SHOWING THE ORI-
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BLOOMINGDALE REFORMED CHURCH.
Diagram of site of Second House of Worship, from The History of Eighty Years
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LINE OF PRESENT FRONT.ON BROADWAY,
FRONT OF 68TH STREET
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the building, once a picturesque feature in the rural scene of what had been in its day a fertile farming district, was brought low. The tablet over its portal, even, was destroyed in the crash which resulted. The east wall was left standing and the burial plot re- mained. The New York Times of May 18, 1878, gave this description of it, ten years after its abandonment:
The deserted cemetery is high above the present grade of the street, its enclosing wall is gone, and it has become a pasture for the goats that infest the vicinity. Its vaults, once receptacles for the dead of the families of Striker, Mott, Harsen, Meier, Gunn, and Westerfield are now empty, yawning chasms and most of the marble head-stones of the graves are scattered about the place in broken fragments. The shanties of squatters surround it and their children dispute its supremacy with the goats. Under the shade of an old sycamore and a few locust-trees half a dozen of the tomb-stones are still standing, and of these one of the most perfect is that of Mrs. Barbara Asten, a large contrib- utor to the church's erection, who was buried here in 1816.
Immediate steps were taken to provide an ecclesias- tical home, which was the Third House of Worship. At the session of April 16, 1869, the pastor reported that already rocks had been blasted and stones gath- ered in preparation for the construction of a temporary chapel on the parsonage grounds, entrance to which would lead from 7Ist Street. Plans and specifications were approved and directed to be placed in the hands of builders for estimates. These were opened on May 20th and Contractor Furber was found to be the lowest bidder at $3475. It was reported in Feb- ruary, 1870, that expenses incurred in removing part of the old church, in repairing the parsonage, and building the chapel had so far amounted to $7985.65.
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For some two years the Consistory had met at Emmons's house, 245 West 20th Street. At the meeting held there June 2d, the pastor reported that "our petition to the Common Council for donation to enable us to pay taxes and assessments on the property of the Church had, after long and severe toil for years and repeated defeats, become finally successful, and that the Legis- lature had authorized the payment of the same and that the Deputy Comptroller had promised soon to adjust the matter." On the 20th, the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted, viz. :
Whereas our Pastor, Rev. Enoch van Aken, has for a long series of years discharged the duties of the Ministry in this Church for which he has never received adequate compensation; and whereas in addition to his appropriate ministerial labors our said Pastor has had charge of the real estate of said church and has with great difficulty, much anxiety and toil carried it through all its tax and assessment troubles and other liabilities and but for his exertions, sacrifices and labors it would have been lost and the Church ceased to be; and whereas the Church property which at the beginning of his ministry was probably not worth over $2000, exclusive of the old building thereon, is now estimated to be worth more than $200,000,
Therefore resolved that we pay out of the money now in hand to our said Pastor, in consideration of said services and as a just return for benefits which this Church has derived from his labors and management of our estate, the sum of $15,000.
The new Church was completed by August, 1870, whereupon the Consistory met there on the 6th. By the will of Garret H. Striker a bequest was left to the Church. The extract therefrom reads as follows:
"I give and bequeath three thousand dollars to the
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incorporated religious society known as the Ministers, Deacons and Elders of the Reformed Dutch Church at Bloomingdale in the City of New York of which the Rev. Enoch van Aken D.D. is now the Pastor, by whatever name it may be incorporated, and to the said Mr. van Aken I give three thousand dollars." Dated 17 Jan. 1868 (L. 180, Wills, III.) On August 18, 1870, it was announced that the executors were desirous of making payment thereof. A special meeting was called at Emmons's on the 25th, at which Ambrose K. Striker delivered over the legacy to the pastor. This was deposited in the Union Trust Company. Domine van Aken was requested to thank the family in writing for the devise. The Church had at this date over $23,000 of funds at interest. In February, 1872, the pastor, following his practice, reported that he had bid in the old church plot for Io00 years which had been sold for unpaid Croton, and that he had succeeded in having cancelled "an enormous tax" on the parson- age for the same commodity. He further announced the following cancellations accomplished by his earnest efforts, viz. : taxes for 1871-1872 ; assessment for open- ing 71st Street, confirmed November 9, 1865; for park at junction of Broadway and Ninth Avenue at 63d Street, confirmed December 22, 1870; for same purpose on parsonage; for opening 73d Street, con- firmed June 27, 1870; for opening 72d Street, con- firmed February 4, 1867; for sewer in same street, confirmed 1870; for sewer in Tenth Avenue at 70th Street, confirmed February I, 1869; for sewer in 7Ist Street, confirmed March 28, 1870; and taxes from 1864 to 1868. This last item alone aggregated $3687 .- 15. He had also sent a petition to the Commissioners for Riverside Park claiming exemption of church
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property and had had several interviews with them, the result of which was as yet unknown. And still the debts increased as the city grew and improvements progressed, and the pastor relaxed not his watchfulness. Next he succeeded in having remitted the assessment for Riverside Park on the burial ground and the taxes of 1873 thereon, on which the city placed a valua- tion of $30,000. He reported in January, 1873, nearly $6000 of liens yet unpaid and a number in which the assessments had not been laid. The new city charter was pending in the Legislature. He had circulars printed containing reasons for the exemption of burial grounds from taxation of any kind and saw that they were distributed among the members, and also to others prominent in securing the passage of the meas- ure, and to the Governor.
In April the ground surrounding the Church had to be regulated because of the grading of 72d Street, and a fence and a sewer constructed, the insurance re- newed, and repairs to the parsonage made. On June 2 Ist Mrs. Thomas, the first woman mentioned as singer, was paid. The boxes required for human remains disturbed and reburied at the time of the removal of the old edifice were also paid for. Great damage had been done to the parsonage by blasting in opening 73d Street, which the contractor had been repeatedly urged to repair. No success attended these efforts and the work was done. Jacob Flick was elected deacon in January, 1874. Services were discontinued from the first Sabbath in August to the corresponding Sabbath in September. The party occupying the parsonage was willing to have it painted provided the paint was furnished. This was authorized in February, 1875.
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THE OLD CHURCH.
THE BLOOMINGDALE REFORMED CHURCH The Third House of Worship 7Ist Street, east of Columbus Avenue. From The History of Eighty Years
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Some day it will be of interest to recall when the street improvements in this part of the city were undertaken. To this end dates have been heretofore carefully preserved in the text. For analogous reason the following liens on the cemetery yet outstanding are detailed here: Opening 68th Street from Eighth Avenue to the river, confirmed September 3, 1869; Public Place at Boulevard and Ninth Avenue at 66th Street, June 8, 1872; outlet sewer Broadway through 66th Street June 30, 1871; sewer in 67th Street, Ninth to Tenth Avenues, August 31, 1874; regulating and grading 68th Street, Eighth Avenue to river, September 25, 1874. The grading of the Boulevard from 59th to 155th Streets was completed and the sewering in process in 1874. Liens on property between 7Ist and 73d Streets: Riverside Park, confirmed August 2, 1872; grading 72d Street, Eighth Avenue to river, March 6, 1873; paving 71st, 72d, and 73d Streets was com- pleted in 1874, and sewering Ninth Avenue in process. New assessments were reported in November, viz .: grading 73d Street, confirmed April 22, 1875; paving 7Ist Street July 3, 1875. It was announced that the assessment for constructing the Boulevard was yet in the hands of the Assessor and that objections thereto had been presented and urged. A lawyer was now en- gaged to institute proceedings to vacate or reduce these and previous liens. Many of them had hereto- fore been remitted because of informalities in the method of assessment, others because of the growing popular disposition that property used for religious and charitable purposes should be exempt. A recent decision of the Court of Appeals exempting certain church property raised hopes of final success. Not- withstanding earnest effort the Boulevard assessment
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was placed on the burial plot in 1877, amounting to $3240.40. It was announced that over $19,000 of arrears were remaining on the property, with uncom- puted interest thereon. Samuel Hanaway was elected deacon in January, 1878. Amount of insurance in- creased on Chapel from $3500 to $5000.
The pastor gave notice on April 11, 1879, that in consequence of increasing infirmities the time might not be very distant when he should need an assistant in the services of the sanctuary. The employment of such an assistant was authorized. Although unable to minister at the services, the Domine continued to care for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the Church. At the session held at his residence on February 21, 188I, he made a statement in which he reported that he had endeavored to promote the spiritual interests of the parish by private intercourse and correspondence and had supplied an assistant who regularly preached and performed the usual duties. He had sedulously cared for the secular affairs and watched with ceaseless vigilance against the approaches of burdensome as- sessments and taxes upon its valuable but unproductive and trammelled real estate, averting them when possible before being laid or laboring for their removal after being imposed. No other church was so peculiarly situated as this, with an unproductive estate to main- tain, in the midst of a fluctuating population, in the transition stage of a rough and rocky soil where costly improvements were made in the most costly manner, multiplying onerous assessments.
In the successive years after the assumption of my pastoral charge [he continued] there have come into my hands and received my attention in behalf of the Church 42 separate and distinct cases of assessments for local
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