USA > New York > Queens County > Jamaica > The origin and history of Grace church, Jamaica, New York > Part 10
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The classes preparing for confirmation were also con- siderably increased. The congregations were revived in numbers and spirit, and their total offerings the first year of this rectorship, other than pew rents, were $2,913.98, the pew rents $1,915.12, and the revenue from the prop- erty and investments of the church $1,580. Bishop Littlejohn confirmed on Ascension Day twenty-one, who were presented by the rector as his first class. A new choir-master, Mr. Rand, took charge of the music, and the services on Christmas and Easter, and other anniversaries of the Church and Sunday School, were greatly improved.
In entering upon his duties Mr. Rice had won the good will of his people, who carried on the usual activities of the church and parish. No change was attempted, during Mr. Rice's rectorship, for the enlargement of buildings, or in the ritual of the services. The rector's special effort to institute the early celebration of Holy Communion was a lasting benefit to the worshippers. It has continued to the present time, and ever will be associated with Mr. Rice's direction of the ordinances of the Church.
An event of rare occurrence in Grace Church took place in the second year of Mr. Rice's ministry. This was the marriage of the rector himself. His bride was Miss Zelia C. Hicks, eldest daughter of Major George A. Hicks, a well known citizen of Jamaica. The ceremony was per- formed in the church, on Jan. 3rd, 1884, at half past two in the afternoon. The day was cold and clear, and the Christmas decorations harmonized with those specially appropriate for the occasion. The marriage was per- formed by the Bishop of Long Island, with whom there were six clergymen in the chancel, friends of the bride- groom. They were Rev. W. H. Moore of Hempstead; Dr. W. F. Watkins of the church of the Holy Trinity, New
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York; Rev. S. S. Stocking of Jamaica; Rev. Melville Boyd, Rector of All Saints, Brooklyn; and Rev. W. P. Brush of Brooklyn. The ushers were Messrs. G. B. Sayres, George K. Meynen and A. Henderson of Jamaica, and Arthur W. Rice of New York. After the ceremony a large reception was given at the residence of the bride's parents, on Clin- ton Avenue. The congregation of Grace Church pre- sented the rector with a handsome wedding gift, which was placed among many others given to the bride.
One of the efforts for the children of the congregation in the previous rectorship was a sewing school, with some other industrial education of a practical kind. This school was continued, and was conducted by some of the most active women of the church. Miss Wooley, Miss Mary Rhinelander King and others took great interest in guiding the young people through their own efforts to active sup- port of missions for the needy and untaught peoples of the home field.
There could be no more zealous workers in the Sunday School and missionary Society than those with whom the rector took counsel, and through whom he accomplished much: Mrs. Belden, Mrs. Cogswell, Mrs. Stocking, Mrs. Lamphear, Miss Hagner, Miss M. R. King, Mrs. Denton, Mrs. Hicks, Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. Starr Edwards, Mrs. C. Edwards, and Miss Amberman were some of the workers in the missionary organization.
No one would fail to recognize the moving spirit of all Christian effort. Miss Cornelia King, who was now, in the last few years of her useful life, upholding the rector and the Church, and blessing the community by her Christian example and beneficence. Bishop Littlejohn said of her in a Diocesan Convention address after her
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death, "Miss Cornelia King's culture, devotion and earnest- ness put her well in the front rank of the churchmen of Long Island. Out of an old and distinguished Church family she did much to enrich a record already conspicu- ous for good deeds and pure lives. As president of the Board of Associates of the Church Charity Foundation, and president of the Board of Managers of St. Phebe's Mission House, she labored incessantly to increase the support and to extend the usefulness of both. There was no charity or mission in the diocese that did not command her sympathy, and, when needed, her active help. There was much in her work, her life, and her character that recalled many of the godly women who figure in the Gos- pel narratives and in the epistle of St. Paul."
The death of Mr. James Eldred Brenton, a member of the Vestry for many years, a venerated Warden, and for forty years a parishioner of Grace Church, made a break in the happy current of Church life, and which was fol- lowed by others that, like the recurrence of affliction in Mr. Benjamin Brenton's family, could but deepen their sorrow. Miss Theodora Brenton, wife of Mr. Clement E. Gardiner, died September 17, 1883. A memorial window of the best English manufacture, having for its central subject St. Cecilia, was placed opposite Mr. Brenton's pew. She died at the age of twenty years, having rare accomplishments.
The inscription below states, in pathetic memory of her departure,
"AND SHE PASSED AWAY TO JESUS WITH THE SINGING OF THE HYMN."
This was the first of the stained glass windows which now adorn the Church.
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A rich and costly alms basin was given in the first year of Mr. Rice's ministry to Grace Church by the Rev. Dr. Eigenbrodt and his sister, as a memorial of their deceased sister, Mrs. Vandervoort. It was used on the first Sunday in February, 1882. It has the inscription on the face, "The Lord remembers thine offerings," and on the reverse, the initials of the donors and date of the gift, with the memorial. The basin is of great beauty and a massive silver piece of artistic design.
The later years of this pastorate were affected by Mr. Rice's impaired health. An affection of the throat became a serious hindrance to his preaching, and to all the public relations of a pastor. After contending with this trouble for two years Mr. Rice determined to relinquish his charge. His resignation took effect in 1892.
Mr. and Mrs. Rice made their home in Mount Vernon, New York, where with their children born in Jamaica, Zelia Stanton, and Bessie Sheridan Rice, they still have their residence. Mr. Rice left a record of 159 baptisms, 111 confirmations, 50 marriages and 226 burials.
He was obliged to relinquish active work in the minis- try, but was entered upon the staff at the Church Mission House in New York, where his rhetorical and literary talents are employed in an editorial capacity, preparing the publications of the Board of Protestant Episcopal Missions.
The Vestry received through the rector a request from the people of Hollis for the privileges of the Church to be given to them. This part of Jamaica was two miles from Grace Church. The mission was conducted by the rector, assisted by some faithful workers, and so the foundations were laid for the Church of St. Gabriel in the Sunday
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School which was begun together with the less frequent services of the Church. Within three years the present church building was completed by the aid of the Cathedral authorities, who also furnished the stipend of the mission- ary in charge. It was dedicated in the autumn of 1896, and the next year a rectory was built. It has been ever since a prosperous mission, in charge of several successive ministers and under the direction of the Dean of the Cathedral.
The death of Hon. William J. Cogswell during Mr. Rice's ministry, in March, 1885, at the age of eighty-five years, brought from the Vestry a statement of the long and valuable services he had rendered to the Church and community.
Mr. Cogswell came to Jamaica from Connecticut in 1834, and as a lawyer and churchman soon became hon- ored, respected and loved by his fellow citizens. He was made a Vestryman in 1842, and a Warden in 1862. He was appointed Judge and Surrogate of Queens County in 1849, in place of Henry I. Hagner, deceased.
Judge Cogswell was "learned and upright as a Judge, eminent and able as a lawyer, and distinguished as a citi- zen by a singular and inflexible integrity of thought and purpose. For thirty-four years, as Vestryman and Warden of this Church, he exemplified in his life its holy doctrines and divine precepts."
"Judge Cogswell's benefactions to the Church, which were frequent and generous, are borne in grateful remem- brance; his interest in and devotion to this parish form a part of its history, and combined with his sound judgment, strong character and kindliness of disposition, rendered him capable of great usefulness as an administrator, and
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endeared him to his brethren of the Vestry. Nor were his activities and zeal confined to the limits of his own parish; he was deeply interested in the organization of this diocese -of which he was for several years a member of its stand- ing committee-and to few more than himself is its success to be attributed."
Judge Cogswell removed from the parish in 1876, when his official connection with it ceased. Of his three sons, William S., Theodore J. and George, two became lawyers, and George died a soldier in the Civil War. William S. enlisted in a Connecticut regiment, and after an active service through the war, retired with the rank of brevet- Colonel.
Col. Cogswell was elected Vestryman in 1874, and like his father has rendered invaluable services to the Church ever since as Vestryman and Warden for forty years.
Theodore was a lay reader and Superintendent of the Sunday School of Grace Church, and at the Clarenceville (Richmond Hill) Missions, and died at an early age in 1878, possessing the efficient qualities of his father, and greatly lamented in the community.
Among the gifts of Judge W. J. Cogswell to the parish was the addition to the rectory on Clinton Avenue for the rector's study.
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CHAPTER XVII.
The Ministry of Rev. William M. Bottome-1893-1896.
This was comparatively a short period in which to add to the growth or make important changes in a Church; yet no one who served Grace Church had warmer friends than Mr. Bottome, and his memory is associated with no painful discords in the congregation. He brought into the life of the Church kindlier feelings and ennobling motives, in the individual relationships of the communicants. He was the son of an English clergyman of the Wesleyan Methodist Church; Mrs. Margaret Bottome, his mother, was a woman of beautiful character and piety, which was impressed on unnumbered lives by her founding of the order of Kings Daughters in evangelical churches in America and Great Britain, and her devotional writings.
Rev. William McDonald Bottome was born in Meriden, Connecticut. His father, Rev. Francis Bottome, D. D., was an Englishman by birth, who entered the Wesleyan Methodist ministry as a missionary in Canada and re- moved to Brooklyn, N. Y., where he was received into the N. Y. East Conference. He met and married in Brooklyn Miss Margaret McDonald, who founded the King's Daugh- ters in New York. This is an interdenominational order not restricted as to membership to any church.
William McDonald Bottome was educated at Wilbraham Academy, and a graduate of Dickinson College, and Union Theological Seminary. After completing his studies he met Miss Margaret Latham of England. He went to Eng-
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land, where they were married, and after a year of study Mr. Bottome was ordained deacon and priest in the Church of England. He began his ministry, in Massingham, Eng- land, and coming to the United States, associated with Rev. Henry W. Satterlee, D. D., of Wappingers . Falls, New York.
Mr. Bottome was elected by the Vestry of Grace Church as rector and took charge in Jamaica April 1, 1893. His ingenuous mind and character, and attractive social quali- ties, made him welcome to the hearts and homes of his people. He made friends quickly, by his cheerful spirit. Though born in the United States, he had acquired traits of culture, manner and speech which bespeak the English gentleman. These could not excite any considerable prejudice against him in Grace Church, and if they had done so, his generous nature would have disarmed it. Mrs. Bottome, his wife, was a lady of English birth and train- ing, the niece of Hon. John Bright, the foremost champion in his day of the rights of the people, and at one time leader of the Liberal party in England. Her health was frail, and therefore she was not so well known by the people as a rector's wife is supposed to become by virtue of her husband's position. They had a young family of four children, three daughters and a son, who could attract companions in the homes around them.
Grace Church was not in a flourishing condition when Mr. Bottome came to the rectorship. The congregation had been greatly depleted by death during the two previous rectorships.
Under the incidental supplies of clergymen, the services were of a plain and uninspiring sort, the musical part in- different and dull, and Mr. Bottome undertook to revive
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their spirit and change their musical character. He pro- posed and carried through the inauguration of a choir of men and boys. This was indeed an innovation that would excite discussion and dissent. It conflicted with century honored traditions in Jamaica, and it required both con- fidence and persuasiveness in the rector to make it success- ful. But Mr. Bottome was loyally sustained by the Vestrymen and many others in the congregation. He had chosen a choir leader and organist in Mr. Frank E. Hop- kins, who could bring a fine musical taste and good ability as an organist to the endeavor.
After several months Mr. Hopkins had trained a number of boys so well as to present them to the service of the Church. The choir was fairly installed, the people pleased with the idea and with the music, which seemed to trans- form the service into an effective motive and help to worship. The history of the choir from that time has varied somewhat in effectiveness, but twice, in terms of six or eight years, Mr. Hopkins has had charge of it, and improved it, and produced the regular and special services in a churchly way, and special rehearsals of the composi- tions of great masters which have filled the Church. An- other effect has been, indirectly, to lead to a great improve- ment in the choirs and the character of the music in other congregations in Jamaica.
There was another institution of Christian charity which the whole township of Jamaica had greatly needed, a well regulated hospital. With the familiarity which years had given to Mr. Bottome in England, with this way of show- ing mercy and helpfulness to our fellow man, Mr. Bottome co-operated earnestly with the efforts made by some of his congregation, especially Miss Mary R. Gale, and other women of Jamaica, to establish in its humble beginnings,
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in a small house on Fulton Street near Grand Street, the now well known Jamaica Hospital. This came, soon after his departure, to possess buildings upon which rest no debts, and now has a large staff of physicians and nurses, and equipments, on New York Avenue. It can accommo- date numerous patients, and is almost always full, drawing them from the largely increased population of the villages of the whole township and the wards of Queensborough in the City of New York.
Mr. Bottome enlisted the sympathy and contributions of his parish in this great and beneficent enterprise, and was always a welcome visitor at the bedside of the sick.
The minutes of the Vestry record the death of Mr. Richard King on March 21st, 1892, for twenty years a member of the Vestry of Grace Church. The resolutions passed on March 28 express profound sorrow and sym- pathy with his son and other relatives. They signify their sense "of personal and official loss in the death of him whose genial companionship made his presence ever wel- come, and whose interest in this parish, manifested in various ways to the end of his life, commanded their respect and was worthy of their emulation."
Mr. King was the son of John Alsop King, and had been, like his ancestors, a generous contributor to the Church, and in many ways promoted its work and influence at home and in the diocese.
The revival of the musical spirit of the services was but the beginning of other great changes proposed by the new rector to the Vestry. He saw that there must be a new organ, and urged this upon their attention. The symbolic aids to the ritual of Holy Communion were almost wholly wanting in this distinctive part of the Church Liturgy.
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However the plainness of forms and appointments might satisfy the older communicants, it was quite out of keep- ing with worship that prevailed in the Churches in this and neighboring dioceses. It was desired that the communion table should have more of the symbolic character of an altar of the Church's faith.
An altar guild was needed, and a few of those in sym- pathy with such work were enlisted to make new vest- ments and attend to the preparations of the sanctuary for the services. A super-altar was desired, and the introduc- tion of Church ornaments proposed. The former was given by the Grace Circle of the Kings Daughters, and a solid brass cross put upon it, the gift of Mr. John M. Crane. Two brass vases were also given by Grace Circle of the Kings Daughters, silk veils and purses and a set of altar linen, with a fair linen cloth, were presented, the work of Miss Virginia Cogswell and Mrs. John S. Denton.
The vestments for the Church seasons were also in- creased, to take the place of the prevailing red cloth which covered the altar. This was done by several women of the parish. The organ chamber was extended, and repairs put upon the organ, and the purchase of a new one deferred. The salary of the organist was raised from $400 to $600, and that of the Sexton to $300.
The movement in the diocese to increase the Episcopal fund was aided by Grace Church. The sum of $500 was voted by the Vestry and raised by subscription for this purpose.
A large piano was bought of Mr. Hopkins for the use of the choir and Sunday School, at $225.
The death of Mr. Francis Lott, March 6, 1896, a member of the Vestry, for ten years, brought to their remembrance
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and emulation his love and loyalty to the Church. Charles C. Napier was at the next election chosen to fill his place in the Vestry.
The resolutions of the Vestry in accepting Mr. Bottome's resignation expressed unfeigned sorrow.
"By his kindly ministrations he has won our hearts; by his faithful service as a preacher of the Word and as Shep- herd of the Sheep committed to his care, he has gathered into the fold many souls who shall be as seals to his minis- try and stars in the crown of his rejoicing, and has laid broad and deep foundations for the future upbuilding and development of Christ's Kingdom among us."
The pastoral relations formed in these three years are still cherished remembrances to the older families of the congregation. He was equally acceptable to the fellow- ship of clerical brethren, and the companionship of the Men's Club of Jamaica, where he was frequently found. His fondness for athletic exercise was a bond of comrade- ship to others, and it seemed to have been a happy conjunc- tion of pastor and people when he came to reside in this community.
There were, however, no considerable developments of parochial strength or increase of numbers, partly for the reason that the mortality among the families of the congre- gation was greater than the accession of new families in Jamaica, and the apathy of business and social life con- tinued. The question of health for some members of the rector's family led to a serious consideration of whether to maintain the relation of rector and people. The decision was made to take his family back to England, and many regrets for personal loss in their departure followed them to the home land.
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The names of their children were Wilmot, Mary, Phyllis, and George.
During Mr. Bottome's ministry at Grace Church there were 62 baptisms and 47 presented for confirmation, and fifteen marriages.
The record of deaths and burials is not exclusively that of members of the parish, but was comparatively a long and saddening one to the rector.
Mr. Bottome continued his ministry incidentally in several churches in England until he settled in the vicarage of All Saints Church, Swanscombe, England, where a long and successful pastorate was ended at Easter, 1913.
At the close of his ministry in Swanscombe, Mr. Bottome established a home for his family at Bromley, Kent, Eng- land. In the last days of this removal he was seized with bronchial pneumonia which in less than a week's illness ended his service on earth, in May, 1913, that he might "enter into the joy of his Lord."
"Lord, vouchsafe him light and rest, peace and refresh- ment, joy and consolation in Paradise, in the companion- ship of Saints, in the presence of Christ, in the ample folds of Thy great love!"
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PmJson'
CHAPTER XIX.
Grace Churchyard.
There is a light of hope and a blessing of peace which hovers over a churchyard, where for hundreds of years those who have died in the Lord have been gathered to the silence of bodies turned to dust and ashes, that await the resurrection of the dead. If there is one spot sacred to the memory of past years it is the churchyard where genera- tions have been laid to rest.
It may not be encouragement so much as resignation that is fostered in the hearts of worshippers by tombstones
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that mark the graves of departed relatives. The Christian religion calls for all the energies that can be used in this life for its betterment in ourselves and others. So fre- quent association with those scenes where are buried our brightest hopes and heart's best love, may paralyze the active powers, and rob us of the good that this world has still for us to reap and enjoy.
But there is a worthy and fondly cherished sentiment that associates so intimately our religious activities with the reminders of those "who rest from their labors." The churchyard becomes a dear and treasured spot even if we but glance toward it, as we enter the house of worship or kneel at the altar of our faith.
Grace Church was founded so early in the life of Jamaica that the faithful ones buried beneath the shadow of its walls and steeple now have their graves in the midst of the busy life of the city that has grown up around it.
The extent of this churchyard was at first only half an acre. It has been enlarged at different times by gifts of the members of the King family, and by purchases by the Vestry of lots on Grove street on the north and on John street on the west. It now forms a quadrilateral enclosing a large city block, from Grove to Fulton streets, except on the southeast corner occupied by the property of Doctor Hull. The graveyard encircles the Church and the new Parish Memorial House occupies one-half of the north side on Grove street, a permanent safeguard from the intrusion of houses or stores into its hallowed precincts. The churchyard was originally given by the widow of Colonel Heathcote, the receiver-general of New York. This was thirty-five years after the organization of the Church; dur- ing this period a village graveyard, on what is now Pros-
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pect street, had been used by the inhabitants of Jamaica, in which even now some Church families have their burial.
Most of the elegies that have been written on church- yards can well describe the characters and conditions and resting places of those who lie so peacefully around Grace Church. Some graves have been hidden under the church itself. The sanctuary built in 1902 covered others, to which an iron gateway leads, and nothing can disturb them, while they are still accessible. Others lie in tombs that are now sealed up and covered with green sod.
At the front entrance one sees the brownstones of the earliest graves. Some have lost their inscriptions through the years, and some have disappeared altogether. On the right, near the east corner of the church, is the humble sandstone relic of Richard Betts, Jr., who died in 1749, and of Mary his wife in 1759. Near it the large brown slab, to the memory of Captain William Dickson, a native of Glasgow and commander of four companies of volun- teers of New York. English soldiers erected this tribute to their captain, who died in 1781. Near this lies the memorial of Paulus Moulin Clijtendaele, Baron of Brelton, who died March 27, 1796. There are numerous graves of officers and privates of the colonial army. One can trace six generations of the Betts family, before and through the period of the Revolution and down to the present time.
On the left are many graves of the King family, begin- ning with Rufus King, the most noted of them all, and followed by Governor John A. King, and his wife, and descendants. The group of graves of General Van Rens- selaer and his family, the Van Cortlands, and Duers, bring back remembrances of early New York, and prominent actors in its history.
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