USA > New York > Orange County > Montgomery > The history of Montgomery classis, R.C.A. To which is added sketches of Mohawk valley men and events of early days, the Iroquois, Palatines, Indian missions, etc > Part 13
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Roser, Peter Kantser, George Tries, and Heinrich Roser were the trustees.
Rev. John M. Wagner succeeded Mr. Boehrer in September, 1862, and continued the work thro 1864. Wagner was from the German Palatinate and gave his best efforts for the German churches he served. For nearly thirty years he was pastor of the large and influential German Evangelical church in Brooklyn, in which pas- torate he died January 21, 1894. In the summer of 1864 Rev. Frederick E. Schlieder came to the West Leyden church. Mr. Schlieder was born in Germany. Coming to this country he was graduated at New Brunswick, and in 1865 was installed over the church here. He had two pastorates at West Leyden, this one of eight years, and a second, beginning in September, 1889, and continuing for eighteen years, or until failing health compelled him to relinquish the pulpit. Alto- gether Mr. Schlieder served the West Leyden church twenty-five years. He died February 2, 1915. His son, Rev. Albert Schlieder, is pastor of the First Church of Hackensack, N. J. Under the shadows of the old West Leyden church Mr. Schlieder spent his last days. There was no pastor during 1873, but in 1874, Rev. Jacob Weber became the minister in charge, and remained with the people for five years. Rev. Henry W. Warnshuis succeeded Weber but stayed only half a year. After leaving West Leyden he went west and entered the Presbyterian church for work in Dakota. John H. Reiner was the next pastor. He was born in Russia, of Jewish extraction, and came to America in 1880. His only known work was this pastorate at West Leyden (1881-1885) and another at Gallatin (1886-1887). He visited the West Leyden field in 1912. During Reiner's pastorate the parsonage was built and the Ladies' Aid Society organized. It was also in his time that a division occurred in the church, and the faction withdrawing built a meeting house in 1889, supplied since by the Ava Methodist minister. Following Reiner came Rev. Henry Frech (1885-1888), tho Rev. S. Kern had supplied the pulpit for a year (March, 1885-March, 1886). Nothing further than this West Leyden work is known of either of these men, except that before coming to West Leyden, Frech had been pastor for four years of the German church (2nd) of Jamacia. In 1889 Rev. Julius J. Keerl supplied the pulpit for six months or until the return of Mr. Schlieder. In June, 1908, the Rev. George S. Bolsterle, recently graduated from New Brunswick, was ordained by the Classis of Montgomery and installed over the West Leyden church. Mr. Bolsterle did a fine work of reorganization and greatly encouraged the people in the three years he remained with then. For the past three years the church has been supplied during the summer by the seminary students, with occasional services by the Classical Mission- ary. Among these students have been Stephen W. Ryder of New Brunswick '13, who is now in the foreign missionary work in Japan, Bert W. Maass, now at Schodack Landing. John Putman and Chauncey Stevens of New Brunswick '16. In the Fall of 1914 Joseph M. Spalt began a lay work at West Leyden, which continued for a year.
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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY CLASSIS
Reformed Churches Row Extinct Formerly Attached to Classis
The first settlement in the town of Amsterdam AMSTERDAM (formerly called "Veddersburgh" or "Veedersburgh" was by the widow and four sons of Philip Groat, at a place just opposite to where Cranesville is now (cf). Originally, Amsterdam, Johnstown, New Broadalbin and Mayfield were in a sort of square, and formed the ancient town of Caughnawaga. At first this part of the town was called Veddersburg or, Vedder's Mills, named after William Vedder, who, with his family, moved here from Johnstown in 1776. He was a descendant of Lucas Vetter (spelled also Vader, Feeter, Veeder) who died at Derdinger, southwest Ger- many so long ago as 1483. (Koetteritz: "Feeter Family"). Others give Albert Vedder of Holland descent as the founder. He was the first tenant of Fort Johnson after Sir John had fled to Canada. The name was changed in 1808 to "Amsterdam," and incorpation of the village was in 1830. Among the first settlers were William and Albert Vedder, E. E. DeGraff, Nicholas Wilcox and William Kline. The earliest known church was the Dutch Reformed Protestant church of 1792, in which Michael Spore, Tunis Swart, Jeremiah DeGraff and Ahasuerus Marcellus were elders. This was an effort to organize a church at Cranesville ("Willigas"), but tho a morgan of land was given by John L. Groat, son of Philip Groat above, the project fell thro because the members wanted the church on both sides of the river. In the Summer of 1795 a second organization was started in which Jeremiah Voorhees and Cornelius Van Vranken were elders, whom Rev. John Johnson of the First Dutch church of Albany or- dained. The meeting for organization was held at the home of John Wiser (near where Henry Hagaman lived in 1851). A Rev. Ames supplied this church, who spent his last days at the county house. Rev. Sampson Occum, a Long Island Indian preacher, also was in this church. He died in 1792 at New Stockbridge, Madison Co., N. Y., aged 69. He was one of the best educated of all the Indians. Two other churches were built at this time, one at New Harlem, later called Fondas Bush, and another at Mayfield. In 1799 the Rev. Con- rad Ten Eyck, just graduated from the New Brunswick Seminary, was called to these three fields, the call being dated March 14, 1799, tho Mr. Ten Eyck did not enter on the field until May 1, 1799. There was no church edifice as yet in Amsterdam. On July 3, 1799, Joseph Clizbe was made elder and Aaron Lindsay deacon. John DeGraff was al- ready in the consistory whose place was taken in December, 1799, by Nicolas Marcellus. John Manley and John Crane were made deacons. During 1800 in trying to settle on a church site two places were favorites, one in the village where the Dr. Pulling residence was,
Note-We are attempting to give in these following pages glimpses of the history of those churches, formerly attached to the Montgomery Classis, but which, thro the circumstances referred to in each case, became extinct, or independent, or were merged into other bodies. While some of them were worthy a decent burial, still we are constrained to feel that many were lost to the denomination thro neglect or lack of practical aid on the part of the Classis.
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near Market and West Main, and the other at Manny's Corners, where a good many of the congregation lived. As a result of the difference of opinion two churches were erected, one on each spot. At this time a third church seems to have been organized in Vedders- burgh, among the officers being James Downs and Mr. Van Derveer, both residents in Florida. This church continued until about 1831. Ten Eyck remained about four years with these three churches, and then served Mayfield and New Harlem until 1812, when he went to the Owasco church. The Veddersburgh church was supplied after Ten Eyck's going by the neighboring pastors, and occasionally by those in the Albany and Schenectady Dutch churches. Articles of incorporation of all these churches are to be found at Fonda. In 1802 Classis dismissed the First Dutch church to unite with the Galway Presbyterian church to call Rev. Mr. Christie. In 1807 Classis dis- missed another First Dutch church to Albany Presbytery.
In the journal of the Rev. John Taylor, who traveled thro here in 1802 he refers to Amsterdam as a town eleven by eight miles, where both the Dutch and Presbyterian churches are vacant, tho he adds that "Domine Ten Eyck occasionally officiates at both." He also says that the people are three-fourths English and that they have great respect for pious clergymen. In 1806 the Veddersburgh congregation at a meeting held in the church building, elected Andreas Waters, Harmanus A. Vedder and Volckert Vedder as trustees. In
1807 this church is dismissed to the Presbytery of Albany. In
1815 a new church was formed, known as "The Albany Bush (Johns- town) and Amsterdam Reformed Dutch church"; the elders were Peter Van Neste and Solomon Hoyt, and the deacons, Peter Vos- burgh and Garret Ten Broeck. Later, November 21, 1821, the term "Union" was added to the title and John Voorhees and Nathan Wells were in the consistory. The Manny's Corners Reformed church became Presbyterian in 1802, and was incorporated February 1, 1803, its first trustees being Joseph Hagaman, Samuel Baldwin, John Bantan, Aaron Marcellus, Joseph Gunsaulus and Gabriel Manna. It united with the West Galway Presbyterian church and called Rev. John I. Christie, who began his work October 5, 1803. He was a Reformed Dutch minister coming from the Classis of Bergen to the church. His last charge was in the Dutch church at Warwick (1812- 1835). He died in 1845. After Mr. Ten Eyck left in 1804 there was no preaching in the Veddersburgh church for several years, and in 1812 the church became Presbyterian and united with the church at Manny's Corners, which also had become Presbyterian, under one head. It was from this church that on March 3, 1832, a hundred and four members went to form the Second Presbyterian church of Am- sterdam. Not until 1850 was another Reformed Dutch church found- ed in Amsterdam, this time on the south side of the river, in Port Jackson. Among those who preached in these first or earlier Re- formed churches, besides Mr. Ten Eyck, were the Rev. Messrs. Stephen Ostrander, Herman B. Stryker, Jonathan F. Morris and Sylvanus Palmer, the last of whom organized an independent ("Wyckofite") church in Amsterdam, its members being called "Palmerites" and "Wyckofites." This church ran for six or seven years. Palmer also preached in independent churches at Tribes Hill and Mayfield. The Particular Synod of Albany, of the Dutch church, carried the "Albany Bush Reformed church" on its records until 1831.
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The years of the ministry of Morris and Stryker date down to 1833. Stryker went to St. Johnsville in 1833 and remained about two years. This was one of the original churches of the ANDRIESTOWN Classis, and usually given as one of the Canadian churches organized by the missionary, McDowell. But Andriestown ("Andrustown") was an outgrowth of the German Flatts church, seven miles away in the southern part of Herkimer county, and so called after Dr. Jas. Henderson, a surgeon of the British Army, who had obtained in 1739 from the Crown some 20,000 acres of land. It was a corrupted form of Hendersontown. Seven of the German families of the German Flatts church bot a thousand acres of this land. Among the names are Grimm (Crim), Starring, Osterhout, Frank, Hawyer, Bell, Lepper, et al. In 1757 these people took refuge in the church fort at German Flatts on ac- count of the French-Indian troubles. On July 18, 1778, an Indian massacre occurred at Andriestown with utter destruction of crops and cabins. It was here that Brant took his first revenge for Oriskany. At the time there were ten families, three of whom, the Crims, Moyers and Osterhouts escaped to Fort Herkimer. The rest were killed or taken prisoners. The congregation was pastored by the German Flatts church minister as the records show. The work was continued in the Columbia church.
The records of this church, now called Roxbury,
BEAVERDAM begin in 1802. In its earliest years it was supplied by Revs. Stephen Z. Goetschius, Abner Benedict and Winslow Paige. Rev. David Devoe supplied it when pastor at Middleburgh (180$-1816). In 1813 he reported one hundred and thirty members. This was the year it joined the Classis NeverMontale. BLENHEIM
This church is now called So. Gilboa. Corwin says it was organized in 1821 but the Montgomery Classis Minutes carry it on their roll for a decade previous to this. Rev. Winslow Paige was its supply during this period.
The first settlement at Buel was by John Bowman in 1760.
BUEL The Indian name for the place was Te-ko-ha-ra-wa. The place was called "Bowman's Kill" for a long time. Its pres- ent name comes from Hon. Jesse Buel a prominent agriculturist of Albany. It was here that Capt. Robt. Mckean was brot after the battle of Dorlach (Sharon Springs) and where he died, July 10, 1781, and was at first buried at Fort Clyde (Minden), tho later reinterred at old Fort Plain. The earliest title of the church is the "Bowman's Creek Protestant Dutch Reformed Church. It joined the Classis of Montgomery in 1802. The consistory in 1807 were Abijah White and John Bowman, elders, and William Bartlett and Adam Felist, Jr., deacons. In 1809 John Bowman, a ruling elder in the church had the body turned into Presbyterian. Rev. John C. Toll was the last pastor of the Dutch church (1803-1807). On May 21, 1842, the session met and put the church back into the Dutch fold, but five years later, May 22, 1847, the church was again put into the Presbyterian fold, where it has remained since. The church edifice built about 1800 was burned in 1915. A new building was erected the same year. Among the preachers here besides Toll (cf Mapletown), were Rev. J. L. Stark (cf Mohawk) and a Rev. William Clark, who supplied for a while. The proximity .of the Mapletown Reformed church has often resulted, as now in a dual pastorate. Rev. Ebenezer
now
Jayq
You Memorial ch.
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Tucker, Auburn '43, was a member of the Buel church. In 1823 an asylum for the deaf and dumb was built, but in 1836 united in the one already founded in New York City.
Three Reformed churches at Buffalo have become ex- BUFFALO tinct. The church of 1838 had for pastors, Rev. John Beattie (1838-1844), and Rev. William A. V. V. Mabon, who served it in a missionary capacity for two or three years (1844- 1856). Mr. Beattie came to Buffalo to supply the church here after a twenty-five years pastorate at New Utrecht. Later he was installed pastor. He died January 22, 1864. Mr. Mabon died while in the professorate at New Brunswick, November 3, 1892. A second organi- zation at Buffalo was the Holland church of 1855, whose pastors were Revs. W. C. Wust (1855-1856), A. K. Kasse (1861-1864), and Henry K. Boer (1876-1879). Mr. Wust went to a Holland church in Ro- chester (1856-1864), then to the Lodi, N. J. Holland church, where after a few years he was suspended, but preached to an independent church until 1878, when he returned to Holland. Mr. Kasse died while pastor of the Second Holland church of Paterson, N. J., in 1874. Mr. Boer is at the Siuox Centre, Ia. church. A third effort at Buffalo was an English speaking church, founded in 1855, located on Delaware avenue, of which the only pastor was the Rev. John L. See (1854-1861), who, later became Secretary of the Board of Educa- tion. He died June 1, 1892. The present Buffalo church is in the Rochester Classis, tho for many years a member of Montgomery.
CANAJOHARIE OR "SAND HILL"
"Canajoharie" is a term to conjure with in any historical study since it was on both sides of the Mohawk and was loosely bounded by the changing events of those early pre-
Revolutionary times. Originally it referred to the country on the north side of the river, and was named after the Indian village, "Can-a-jor-he" ("whirling stone"). When the Bear clan of the Can- a-jor-he moved to the south side of the river toward the close of the seventeenth century they took the name with them, tho for years afterwards the old deeds refer to it still as on the north side. This continued until 1772 when Tryon county was formed and Cana- joharie was definitely bounded, extending from Nose Hill to Fall Hill along the river for twenty miles, virtually to the Pennsylvania line. In the divisions of Tryon county Canajoharie included the settlements of Cherry Valley, Charlotte river, etc. and, later, was known as the "Old English District." On Sauthier's map (1776) the Canajoharie creek was called "Te-cay-o-ha-ron-we."
During Sir William Johnson's time Canajoharie was known as the country on the south side of the river around the Upper Castle of the Mohawks, in the town of Danube, but by the time of the Revolution its boundaries became popularly extended as far east as Fort Plain. Continuing the local history before we come to the "Sand Hill" church, the government in 1776 built a fort about a third of a mile north-east of the church (built in 1750) and called it "Fort Plain" (not Fort Plank which Stone, Campbell, et al. confuses with Fort Plain). It enclosed a third of an acre and was palisaded and defended with cannons and bastions. After the brutal raid of Sir John Johnson in 1780 (cf Notes) the government built a score. of forts in the valley for increased protection of the settlers. The first raid was in August, followed by the savage raid in October. The
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record of the court martial of Gen. Robt. Van Rensselaer brot out the fact that Van Rensselaer wanted the name of "Fort Plain" changed to that of "Rensselaer," to satisfy his vanity-surely not because of his cowardice shown at the battle of Stone Arabia (cf Note). Acquitted at the court martial, failing to have the name changed, Van Rensselaer ordered the erection of a block house a little to the north of the fort, on the land of John Lipe, and called it "Fort Rensselaer." This was in 1781. "Fort Plain" was already becoming dilapidated. Rev. Daniel Gros, the pastor of the "Sand Hill" church wrote Gen. Clinton urging him to send troops to Fort Rensselaer which, he says, is close to the ruins of the old "Sand Hill" church, burned in the raid of 1780. In his trip up the valley in July, 1783, Washington speaks of tarrying over night at the home of Maj. Wormuth, opposite Fort Plain and crossing in the morning where he probably dined at Fort Rensselaer to which he refers. Simms and later writers refer to the old stone house built by a Mr. Van Alstyne (1740), who had come from Kinderhook and settled at what is now the present village of Canajoharie, as Fort Rensselaer, but this is obviously an error, as all the documentary history amply proves. The ninth meeting of the Tryon Co. Com. of Safety was held in this house, June 11, 1775. The fourteenth meeting was also held here and Gen. Herkimer was chairman of the meeting. The forts built near Fort Plain during the last years of the War of the Revolu- tion were Fort Rensselaer, three hundred and thirty feet from old Fort Plain, Fort Plank, two and a half miles west and a quarter of a mile from the river, Fort Willett four miles west on the highland of "Dutchtown," on the Zimmerman farm; Fort Windecker eight miles west on the river, and Fort Clyde, in Freys Bush, three miles south.
"The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Canajoharie" (so the seal reads) was organized in 1750 and for seventy-five years the work was carried on. The church was locally known as the "Sand Hill" church, and was built on the westerly side of the "Dutchtown" road, about four miles up the river from the present village of Cana- joharie and about one mile above the present site of Fort Plain. The Germans who settled the town of Minden about 1720, located prin- cipally on the "Dutchtown" road which led down from Sand Hill to the river where there was a ferry. The land for this church and parsonage was given by Rutger and Nicolas Bleeker on September 22, 1729, tho the church was not built, that is the substantial structure, until after 1761, for Rev. John Lappius, a German minister, on Sep- tember 9, 1761, was given permission to collect funds for the erection of a church. In April, 1759, Sir William Johnson held an Indian council at this place with the Iroquois. Domine Lappius died in 1765. From Canajoharie just previous to his death Mr. Lappius writes a pathetic letter to Sir William Johnson, begging him to send him some rum and raisins to relieve his cold. Near by the church was the home of John Abeel, a celebrated German trader with the Indians, whose Seneca squaw bore him a son, Cornplanter, the celebrated Indian of infamous memory.
All that remains of the old church today is a long neglected burial spot, a few mutilated books (in the Utica Public Library), the church seal, Rev. John Wack's call, and a few old papers, which are in the possession of some of Wack's descendants at Fort Plain. In
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the old record books referred to there are but a few consistorial minutes, the main portion of these records being statistical-baptisms, marriages, deaths, etc. These are from 1788 thro 1821. Rev. Abra- ham Rosencrantz preached here after His coming to German Flatts here (ef) in 1952, and, later came Rev. John Casper Lappius (12-1765) and Rev. Kennipe (of whom we know nothing but the name in the records) and Rev. John Broeffle for Eroeffel), who was one of the first post-Revolutionary pastors. In 1788 Rev. D. C. A. Pick of Stone Arabia (cf) came to the church to supply it, and was followed by Rev. John D. Gros, a regent of the University of New York, and a chaplain of the N. Y. militia. He had served a German Reformed church in New York City. Dr. Gros was the instructor of the illustrious
Milledoler (for thirty years connected with Rutgers). He wrote a standard work on "Moral Philosophy." He spent the last ten years of his wonderful life in the vicinity of Fort Plain, and lies buried in its beautiful cemetery. He was an extensive land owner in the valley. His brother, Capt. Lawrence Gros, of the Revolution, came to America in 1764. His company was a part of Col. Willet's regi- ment. He was in the battles of Oriskany, Sharon and Johnstown. Rev. Dr. Gros was the almoner for N. Y. State Commission for re- lieving distressed families and served during 1780-1783. During the a pastorat & ministry of Dr. Gros a new church was built costing $2,500, before and during the construction of which (erected on the site of the old one) the barn of Mr. Lipe (torn down in 1859) was used for worship. The builder of the church was Peter March. It had the high pulpit, half round with a bench for one, and sounding board, galleries on the sides and rear and steeple. Rev. Isaac Labagh came to the church about 1800 and remained three years. During the first year of his ministry a Washington Memorial service was held, and Labagh preached a sermon, afterwards printed. The church was decorated with evergreen and black crepe, while in the procession was a rider- less horse, with boots attached to the saddle (a custom of the day when officers were buried). It was an imposing service, attended by thousands, not a few of whom, doubtless, saw Washington on his visit to "Sand Hill" in the summer of 1783.
Rev. John J. Wack came to the "Sand Hill" church in 1804, the call being dated May 26 and promising $200, together with fifty cords of wood, the personal use of the parsonage, the use of the glebe lands, and two weeks' vacation. His older brother, Casper, began the study of theology at eleven, and received calls at fifteen, but Classis compelled him to wait a few years for ordination tho he was allowed to serve the church as a catechist. He was the first native born minister to be educated and ordained in America. Rev. J. J. Wack began preaching at twenty-three at Amwell, N. J., from which he came to the "Sand Hill" church with his bride and two slaves, several head of cattle-driving all the distance. Wack's call is signed by John Jr., Jacob and John Dievendorf, Cornelius Van Camp, Jr., Dionysius Miller, Thomas Zimmerman, Jacob H. Walradt, John Fail- ing (consistory), and by the trustees, Solomon Dievendorf, George G. Garlock, John Seeber, Casper Lipe and Henry S. Failing. Rev. Mr. Wack was a fluent linguist, preaching in the German and English, and in the controversies of that day with the Universalists, quoting passages from his Hebrew and Greek Testaments, and from the Latin Fathers-which procedure always had a most favorable impres-
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sion on the hearers and tended to confound his adversaries. Rev. Wack was more than a preacher-he was for his day a sort of "bishop," ruling in all the affairs of his people with strong hand and convincing speech. When the soldiers of the company of which he was chaplain (War of 1812) refused to assemble for prayers be borrowed the sword from the commanding officer and compelled them to form a hollow square, inside of which he led them in the morning devotions. When the Montgomery Classis sought to discipline him for infraction of their rules he took the church out of the Classis or else went off and organized a new one. For nearly half a century he was a potent factor in the churches of the classis, or in those that were organized independent of Classis. He served the church at "Sand Hill" for twenty years, its last pastor, unto whom, for salary due, came the church, and parsonage, and glebe lands,-he might have had the cemetery but declined it. We find him serving, besides "Sand Hill," the churches at Canajoharie (Independent), Stone Arabia, Tillaborough, and Ephratah, at which place he died, May 26, 1851, the anniversary of his call to "Sand Hill." Under the present Canajoharie church we speak of other efforts in the present village to organize Reformed churches, and under the Independent churches references are to be found anent the "Wyckofite" movement in the community. Both Fort Plain and Canajoharie are outgrowths of the "Sand Hill" church, tho the former has priority in the succession. "Sand Hill" or "Canajoharie" was for many years also called, the "Fort Plain" church. In the Minutes of Particular Synod of Albany (1817 ff) concerning the trouble Classis had with Mr. Wack it is so called, and Peter Mayer signs himself as the "President of the Fort Plain Reformed Dutch church" under date of October 2, 1816. Organized in 1833 by the Cayuga Classis, it entered CANASTOTA the Montgomery Classis in 1889. The pulpit from the beginning was almost wholly supplied by the students from Auburn Seminary, while of the fourteen pastors or supplies mentioned, but four represent the Reformed church ministry. Among the pastors were, Rev. S. Z. Goetschius (S. S. 1836-1837), Rev. Francis T. Drake (1845-1853), Rev. John Garretson (1859-1861), and Rev. William A. Wurts (1863-1868), the latter serving as pastor for six years, and, later (1877-1878) acting as supply. Rev. John H. Lock- wood was installed in November, 1871, and resigned in May, 1873. Mr. Lockwood went to the First Congregational church of Westfield, Mass., in 1879, and is now the pastor emeritus of that church, tho residing at Springfield, Mass. He has not been in active work since 1896. Cayuga dropped the church after Wurts' supply but Mont- gomery listed it until 1894, even tho it had gone over to the Pres- byterian denomination about 1883. A strong Reformed church in the sixties, tho most of the families were Presbyterian, the church was practically in the hands of the Auburn men, especially Rev. Mr. Whitfield, and eventually went into that denomination. Canastota means "the lonesome pine."
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