USA > New York > The centennial history of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of New York, 1785-1885 > Part 36
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The fifth Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. J. M. Wain- wright, D.D., D.C.L., a graduate of Harvard College, and facile in the use of the pen, published a number of sermons, preached on special occasions, between 1828 and 1835. His controversy with Dr. Potts, as to whether there can be a church without a bishop, was carried on through the New York press in 1844, and shortly afterwards was published in pamphlet form. Dr. Wainwright's part was very ably sus- tained, and the cause of the Church gained favor with the intelligent reading public. He published Family Prayers, in 1845 and 1850, which are much esteemed by those who have proved their value by daily use. In 1850 he brought
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out Pathways and Abiding Places of Our Saviour, being an account of travels in the Holy Land (1850), and The Land of Bondage (1851). He also edited the Memoirs and Sermons of Bishop Ravenscroft of North Carolina, and The Life of Bishop Heber, carrying the latter through the press for Mrs. Heber's benefit. A volume of sermons selected from his manuscripts was published under the Rev. Dr. Higbee's care the year after his decease. The Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, D.D., D.C.L., sixth Bishop of New York, has made contributions to Church literature by publishing a number of single sermons, addresses, etc. He has written in past years for reviews, but has not published any work in book form. The Assistant Bishop of New York, the Rt. Rev. Henry C. Potter, D.D., LL.D., has published a number of volumes, including Sisterhoods and Deaconesses, at Home and Abroad : A History of their Rise and Growth in the Protestant Episcopal Church, together with Rules for their Organization and Government (1872) ; The Gates of the East : A Winter in Egypt and Syria (1876), and Sermons of the City (1880).
In addition to the Rt. Rev. Fathers just named, who have presided over the Diocese of New York, there are others in the episcopate who come properly within the scope of the present sketch, in consequence of the fact that a large or the larger part of their literary labors was performed while they were in New York. Bishop Whittingham, who was eminent for scholarship and ability, takes lead among these. While he was as yet a very young man, he published a number of valuable works. As early as 1827, in conjunction with the Rev. Dr. S. H. Turner, he translated Jahn's Introduction to the Old Testament. He became editor of The Family Visitor (fortnightly), and The Children's Magazine (monthly), and furnished excellent matter for Church people's reading. In 1829 he took charge of the work of The Protestant Episcopal Press, and in 183I assumed editorial care of The Churchman, in which for two or three years he rendered valuable service in advocating and setting forth Catholic Church principle and practice, as these are held by the American Episcopal Church. In the service of The Protestant Episcopal Press
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(from 1828 onwards) he brought out the Parish and Reli- gious Family Library, for use in the Protestant Episcopal Church, 13 vols., 12mo. Among these are the Apostolic Fathers, Sumner on Apostolic Preaching, Walton's Lives, etc. Early in 1836 he was appointed Professor of Ecclesias- tical History in the General Theological Seminary, in which position he served the best interests of the Church and the ministry until his acceptance of the bishopric of Maryland, in September, 1840. Subsequently, he edited for an American edition, with notes, etc., Palmer's Treatise on the Church of Christ (2 vols., 8vo, 1841); Commentary of Vincent of Lerins, new translation, with notes, etc. (1847); Ratramn on the Lord's Supper, with a revised translation, and Anglican Catholicity Vindicated against Roman Innova- tions, being Isaac Casaubon's answer to Cardinal Perron (1875). The Rt. Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe, D.D., LL.D., second Bishop of Western New York, who was educated in New York City and held the rectorship of one of its chief parishes for years, is well known not only as a theologian and scholar, but also as one of the few poets which the Church in America has produced. In this latter respect he is a worthy peer of William Croswell and others who have contributed to make Church poetry what it is in our day. In 1840 he published his Christian Ballads, of which a revised edition, with illustrations, was issued in 1864; he also published Athanasion, and other Poems (1842); Hallowe'en, and other Poems (1844); Saul, a Mystery, and other Poems (1845). Besides these he published a volume of Sermons on Doctrine and Duty (1854) ; Impressions of England (1856); Criterion. (1866), and is now (1885) occupied in editing, with valuable notes and elucidations, The Ante- Nicene Fathers, to be completed in eight royal 8vo volumes. Bishop Coxe has also been a frequent contributor to reviews, magazines, and other periodicals. The Rt. Rev. A. N. Little- john, D.D., LL.D., first Bishop of Long Island, became rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1860, and when Long Island was set off as a diocese he was elected to be its bishop, and was consecrated in January, 1869.
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Bishop Littlejohn is a vigorous writer, and has published a number of volumes which rank high in the esteem of the Church. Among these may be noted here: Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion (1855) ; Individualism : Its Growth and Tendencies, with some Suggestions as to the Remedy for its Evils, being sermons preached before the University of Cambridge in November, 1880; Conciones ad Clerum, 1879, 1880; The Christian Ministry at the Close of the Nineteenth Century (1885). The Bishop of Long Island has also con- tributed to Church literature by publishing a number of charges, addresses, occasional sermons, etc.
With this brief record, we pass from the bishops to others in the ministry who have rendered good service in behalf of the Church's literature during the century just passed. We give the names in chronological order as nearly as may be. The Rev. John Bowden, D.D., was of Irish birth (d. 1817), but came to America in early life. He graduated at King's (now Columbia) College in 1772. He went to England for orders, and on his return, in 1774, he became an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York. In 1801, Dr. Bowden was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy, Belles-Lettres, and Logic in Columbia College, a position which he filled to the close of his life. His published works were mostly con- troversial, in defence of the Church's claims and position, against Presbyterian and other objections. The series of let- ters addressed to the Rev. Dr. Miller, a Presbyterian divine in New York, entitled The Apostolic Origin of Episcopacy Asserted (1808), are very able, and have been republished in the Works on Episcopacy, vol. i., Protestant Episcopal Press (1831). Dr. Sprague (v. 306) gives a full list of Dr. Bowden's publications. The Rev. Edmund D. Griffin (d. 1830) was a graduate of Columbia College, entered the ministry in 1826, and for two years occupied a position in New York City. Health having failed, he went abroad, in 1828, and on his re- turn, in April, 1830, he was engaged in service at Columbia College, during the temporary absence of Dr. McVickar. His strength failed rapidly after this, and at the beginning of Sep- tember he went away to his rest. Dr. McVickar published
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his literary Remains in 1831 (2 vols.), with a memoir of the deceased. The Rev. Dr. James Milnor (d. 1844) was bred to the bar in his native city, Philadelphia, and for a number of years was engaged in civil service. In 1814 he was admitted to the ministry by Bishop White, served the Church in Phila- delphia two years, and then accepted a call to St. George's Church, New York. This position he held till his death. Dr. Milnor published an Oration on Masonry (1811), and a num- ber of occasional sermons (1817, 1828, 1836). The Rev. Dr. John D. Ogilby was born in Ireland, but came to the United States when a boy five years old. He graduated at Columbia College in 1829, and took orders in 1838. Three years later he was elected to the chair of Ecclesiastical History in the General Theological Seminary, and devoted himself to the work he had undertaken. His health broke down, and he went abroad in hope of recovery, but he died in Paris, Feb- ruary 2, 1851. Dr. Ogilby published An Outline of the Argu- ment against the Validity of Lay Baptism (1842) ; The Catholic Church in England and America (1844), together with a num- ber of single sermons, addresses, etc. The Rev. Bird Wilson, D.D., LL.D. (d. 1859), was a native of Pennsylvania, gradu- ated from the University of that State in 1792, and five years later was admitted to the bar at the early age of twenty-one. He was elevated to the bench not long after, but, desiring rather to be occupied in the work of the ministry, he studied theology under Bishop White, and took orders in 1819. He was appointed Professor of Systematic Divinity in the General Theological Seminary in 1821, and resided thenceforth in New York. His judicial training was an admirable help to him in this position, which is second to none in importance in a course of theological training for the ministry. At the ad- vanced age of seventy-four, Dr. Wilson resigned his profess- orship, and claimed his well-earned repose. His chief con- tribution to Church literature was the Memoir of the Life of Bishop White (1839). It was undertaken at the request of the bishop's family and the clergy of Pennsylvania generally, and is a fitting tribute to the noble qualities of head and heart possessed by the venerable and beloved presiding bishop
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of the American Episcopal Church. The Rev. Dr. S. H. Turner, coadjutor of Dr. Wilson in the Seminary (d. 1861), was Professor of Biblical Learning and the Interpretation of Scripture from 1820 to 1860. Dr. Turner's contributions in his department were numerous and valuable. He was a very industrious student, and published, during his long service as professor in the Seminary, Notes on the Epistle to the Romans (1824) ; Planck's Introduction to Sacred Philology and Inter- pretation, translated from the German, with notes (1834) ; Companion to the Book of Genesis (1841) ; Essay on our Lord's Discourse at Capernaum, recorded in the sixth chapter of St. John, with Strictures on Cardinal Wiseman's Lectures on the Real Presence, etc. (1851) ; Thoughts on the Origin, Character, and Interpretation of Scripture Prophecy (1852) ; St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews, Greek and English, with a Commentary (1852) ; Spiritual Things Compared with Spiritual ; or, The Gospels and Acts Illustrated by the use of Parallel References (1859). His latest work was an Autobiography, which con- tains curious and interesting matter (published in 1863, after his death). The Rev. Dr. William Berrian, rector of Trinity Church, New York (d. 1862), during his long incumbency of over thirty years published a number of volumes, viz. : Travels in France and Italy in 1817 (1820); Devotions for the Sick Room, Family and Private Prayers, Sailors' Manual, Historical Sketch of Trinity Church, New York (1847) ; Recol- lections of Departed Friends (1850).
The Rev. Francis L. Hawks, D.D., LL.D., aptly char- acterized by Dr. Seabury as " the Chrysostom of the Ameri- can Church," was a native of North Carolina (born in 1798, died in 1866). Bred to the law he nevertheless entered the ministry in 1827; became rector of St. Stephen's Church, New York, 1831 ; rector of St. Thomas' Church, 1832 ; rector of Calvary Church, 1849-1862 ; and from 1865 to his death, rector of the new Chapel of the Holy Saviour. Dr. Hawks was several times elected bishop, but he declined elevation to the episcopate. In 1835 he was appointed by the General Convention "historiographer " of the American Episcopal Church, and was zealous in discharge of the im-
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portant duties attached to that post. His publications were very numerous, and covered a wide field of literature and re- search. Among his works, we name here ; Contributions to the Ecclesiastical History of the United States, embracing Virginia and Maryland (2 vols., 1836-1841); also, as part of the same contributions, Commentary on the Constitution and Canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States (1841); Auricular Confession in the Protestant Episcopal Church (1850); History of North Carolina (1857). Dr. Hawks was translator and editor of several valuable works, viz. : Rivero and Tschudi's Antiquities of Peru (1854) ; The Official and other State Papers of the late Maj .- Gen. Alexander Hamilton (1842) ; Narrative of Commodore Perry's Expe- dition to the China Seas and Japan, in 1852-54 (1856), com- piled from Perry's original notes and journals ; The Romance of Biography (12 vols). Dr. Hawks, in conjunction with Dr. C. S. Henry, established The New York Review (1837- 43), in which several of the ablest papers were the product of his pen. He was also a frequent contributor to other re- views, to magazines, journals, etc. His latest publication was Documentary History of the Protestant Episcopal Church, containing documents concerning the Church in Connecticut, edited in conjunction with W. S. Perry (2 vols., 1863). The Rev. John McVickar, D.D. (d. 1868), who, for forty years filled the chair of Moral Philosophy, Rhetoric, and Belles- Lettres in Columbia College, New York, was a valuable con- tributor to Church literature in his day and generation. In addition to numerous pamphlets and essays, Dr. McVickar published a Narrative of the Life of Dr. Samuel Bard (1822) ; Outlines of Political Economy (1825) ; Memoir of the Rev. Edmund D. Griffin (1831) ; Early Years of Bishop Hobart (1834) ; and Professional Years of Bishop Hobart (1836). The Rev. Samuel Seabury, D.D. (d. 1872), grandson of the Rt. Rev. Bishop Seabury, of Connecticut, received orders in 1826. In 1831 he removed to New York, and a few years later became editor of The Churchman. This posi- tion he held for some fifteen years, and rendered that journal one of the most efficient and powerful in the Church in its ad-
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vocacy of the true position and rightful claims of the Ameri- can branch of the Catholic Church. Dr. Seabury was rector of the Church of the Anunciation, New York, from 1838 to 1868, and in 1862 was appointed Dr. Turner's successor in the chair of Biblical Learning in the General Theological Sem- inary. His chief publications were: The Continuity of the Church of England in the Sixteenth Century (1853); Dis- courses on the Supremacy and Obligation of Conscience (1860) ; American Slavery distinguished from the Slavery of English Theorists, and justified by the Law of Nature (1861); The Theory and Use of the Church Calendar (1872). Discourses Illustrative of the Nature and Work of the Holy Spirit, and other papers, edited by his son, Dr. W. J. Seabury, were published in 1874. The Rev. Dr. Francis Vinton (d. 1872) was trained at first for the military service, graduating at West Point in 1830, and serving during the Creole War in Georgia in 1836. He studied law at Harvard, and was admitted to the bar in 1834. He next studied theology, in the General Theological Seminary, and was admitted to orders in 1838. He was rector of Emanuel Church, Brook- lyn, in 1844, and of Grace Church, Brooklyn, in 1847. He became an assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York, 1855, which position he retained until his death. In 1869 he was appointed to the new professorship in the Seminary of Ecclesiastical Polity and Law, and discharged its duties with zeal and diligence. Besides single sermons, orations, lec- tures, etc., Dr. Vinton published Arthur Tremaine; or, Cadet Life (1830) ; Lectures on the Evidences of Christian- ity (1855); and a Manual Commentary on the General Canon Law of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States (1870). The Rev. Dr. William A. Muhlenberg (d. 1877) was a native of Pennsylvania, entered the ministry in 1817, and founded St. Paul's College, Flushing, Long Island, in 1828. For nearly twenty years he was at its head, and exerted through it marked influences on education. In 1846 he became rector of the Church of the Holy Communion, New York, the earliest among free-seat churches in the city. St. Luke's Hospital, New York, was founded through his
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efforts ; it was opened in 1858, and Dr. Muhlenberg was for many years its pastor. He organized the first Protestant sisterhood in the United States, and established the institu- tion at St. Johnland, on Long Island, an industrial Christian settlement and community. Dr. Muhlenberg originated in 1853 the "memorial " movement, as it is called in the Church, which bore fruit in subsequent years .* He made valuable contributions to the hymnology and music of the Church. Church Poetry, selected and arranged from Various Authors, was published in 1823; and Music of the Church, in con- junction with Dr. J. M. Wainwright, appeared in 1852; also The People's Psalter (new and revised edition, 1858). Since his decease has been published Evangelical Catholic Papers, edited by Anne Ayres. First series : a collection of essays, letters, and tractates, from his writings during the past forty years (1875). Second series : comprising addresses, lectures, and sermons, from his writings during the past fifty years (1877). The Rev. Edward A. Washburn, D.D., (d. 1881) was a native of Boston, and graduated from Harvard in 1838. He received orders in 1844; went abroad for two years in 1851 ; became rector of Calvary Church, New York, in 1865. This position he filled to the close of his life. Dr. Washburn was a diligent student and a scholar of large and liberal cul- ture. In conjunction with Rev. Dr. E. Harwood he trans- lated and supplemented the Pastoral Epistles in Lange's Commentary. He contributed a valuable note to Dr. Schaff's Creeds of Christendom on the doctrinal position of the English Church ; was a member of the American company of New Testament revisers of the authorized version of the Bible, and read papers before the Evangelical Alliance (1873- 1879) on " Reason and Faith " and on "Socialism." He wrote freely for the reviews ; but published only a single volume, viz .: The Social Law of God : Sermons on the Ten Command- ments (5th ed., 1881). There has been printed also a tractate of his, entitled Relation of the Episcopal Church to other
* See Bishop Perry's History of the American Episcopal Church, on " The Memorial Discussion and its Practical Results," vol. ii., pp. 292-310.
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Christian Bodies, which clearly sets forth his matured con- victions on this subject.
Passing by, for lack of room, several honorable names, such as the Rev. Dr. J. C. Rudd (d. 1848), the Rev. Dr. C. F. Crusé (d. 1865), the Rev. Dr. Milo Mahan (d. 1870), the Rev. Dr. John Cotton Smith (d. 1882), the Rev. Dr. F. C. Ewer (d. 1883), the Rev. Dr. C. S. Henry (d. 1884), the Rev. Dr. T. W. Coit (d. 1885), the Rev. Dr. S. H. Tyng (d. 1885) and others, only brief space can be given to some of those who are still living and serving the Church in New York. The venerable Rev. William Staunton, D.D., a generation ago prepared a work which has stood the test of time, and is the standard work on the subject. It was originally called the Dictionary of the Church, but its present title is, An Ecclesiastical Dictionary, containing Definitions of Terms and Explanations and Illustrations of Subjects pertaining to the History, Ritual, Discipline, Worship, Ceremonies, and Usages of the Christian Church ; with brief Notices of An- cient and Modern Sects, and Biographical Sketches of the Early Fathers and Writers of the Church (4th ed., with ad- ditions, 1875). Dr. Staunton has also been a frequent con- tributor to reviews, magazines, and journals in the Church. He holds a facile and pointed pen, and is always forcible and instructive. The Rev. Morgan Dix, S.T.D., although rector (since 1862) of the largest parish in the American Church, and burdened with grave responsibilities, has found time to make numerous contributions to Church literature. Among these we note A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Lectures on the Pantheistic Idea of an Impersonal-Substance Deity, Essay on Christian Art, Lectures on the Two Estates, that of the Wedded in the Lord and that of the Single for the Kingdom of Heaven's Sake ; The Gospel and Philos- ophy : Six Lectures. Dr. Dix's style is clear and incisive, and he rarely, if ever, fails to make his meaning plain to intelligent readers. The Rev. J. H. Rylance, D.D., rector of St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, New York, has given much thought to the "burning" questions of the day, in regard to the foundations of social life and order, the
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mutual relations of classes in the community, and the like. His publications have thus far been few, but yet effective for good. The Rev. William R. Huntington, D.D., rector of Grace Church, New York, as successor of Bishop H. C. Potter, holds a position of high importance. Besides his well-known labors in connection with the revision of the Book of Common Prayer, he has published The Church Idea, a valuable contribution to Church unity, also a volume on Conditional Immortality. Dr. Huntington is by right a poet, and has proven his right to the name, but he has not published a volume of poetry as yet. The Rev. Chas. H. Hall, D.D., though in the Diocese of Long Island, may prop- erly here be included as belonging to New York before the new diocese was formed. Dr. H. has published Notes on the Gospels, which are marked by excellent judgment in the use of his material, and by sound and sober exegesis. His more recent contribution is entitled Shadows of the Valley, being a discussion of the question much mooted in our day, that of future punishment. Principal Fairbairn, of St. Stephen's College, is a well-furnished scholar, and has published a volume of Sermons, which are admirable speci- mens of academic preaching. Dr. W. W. Olssen, a professor in the same college, has published two volumes, Personality, Human and Divine, and Revelation, Universal and Special, which show not only ability and scholarship, but also sound conservative Church teaching. Others of the clergy have contributed in some degree to Church literature, but neces- sity compels us to pass them by at this time .*
* Jesse Ames Spencer, S.T.D., the writer of this article, is a native of New York; graduated at Columbia College, 1837, and from the General Theological Seminary, 1840; was admitted to orders in 1840; served two or three years in a parish, but was compelled to go abroad in search of health; traveled in Europe and the East; was professor of Latin and Oriental Languages in Burlington Col- lege, N. J., in 1849-1850; editor and secretary of the General Protestant Epis- copal Sunday-school Union and Church Book Society, 1851-1857; professor of Greek Language and Literature in College of the City of New York, 1869-1881. Dr. Spencer has published The New Testament in Greek, with notes on the historical books (1847); Cæsar's Commentaries, with notes, lexicon, etc. (1848); Egypt and the Holy Land (1849) ; History of the United States (4 vols., 1856-
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The laity of the Church in New York are entitled to special mention as contributing to its literature. Among those were, the eminent civilian and president of Columbia College, William Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (d. 1819); the gen- erous benefactor of the General Theological Seminary, the faithful teacher in that institution, the poet of no mean renown, Clement C. Moore, LL.D. (d. 1863); the wise and learned jurist and author, also a professor in the General Theological Seminary, Gulian C. Verplanck, LL.D. (d. 1870) ; the well-read scholar and magister bibliothecarum, J. G. Cogswell, LL.D. (d. 1871) ; the able expositor of Church law, Murray Hoffman, LL.D. (d. 1878) ; the genial men of letters and authors, the brothers Evert and George L. Duyckinck (d. 1878, 1863) ; and others among the departed as well as the living.
The present paper, such as it is, confessedly imperfect, here comes to its close. It is hoped that it will, in some degree, help those who come after to appreciate the full force of the Psalmist's words, IN MEMORIA AETERNA ERIT JUSTUS.
Less Ames Spencer
1869) ; Greek Praxis (1870); The Young Ruler, and Other Discourses (1871) ; A Course of English Reading (1873). He edited Archbishop Trench's Poems (1856), and Xenophon's Anabasis, from Professor A. Crosby's manuscripts. Dr. Spencer has also contributed freely to current literature in the leading reviews and magazines of the day .- [EDITOR.]
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Page 171, line 7 from bottom, " the Dioceses of Albany and Long Island," omit- ting "Central New York."
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