USA > New York > Dutchess County > Poughkeepsie > The records of Christ church, Poughkeepsie, New York, Vol I > Part 14
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"Mr. Wheaton had the school removed to the galleries of the church. In the galleries were pews for the colored members of the Church, consisting of a long seat so enclosed that only heads were visible.
1 A non-parochial clergyman, who, for some years, was Principal of a school for boys, which he kept in the house on North Clover street later occupied by William Davies, and now by the Sisters of Charity.
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Miss Booth,1 with her pupils, sat in the gallery on the south side, the College Hill2 boys on the north side; the organ and choir were in the west gallery.
"Mr. Abel Gunn was the only organist I ever knew in Poughkeepsie, and there was a very small organ with a man, or boy, to blow the bellows. The choir was a volunteer chorus. Mr. Van Vliet was the leader, and the only one in my day. The choir were curtained off, the curtains being drawn when they rose to sing. On special occasions the ladies remov- ed their hats, and appeared with wreaths of artificial flowers on their heads. One occasion was Christ- mas Eve, when the church was decorated with ever- greens and suitable Scriptural mottoes, and when there was extra singing of course. 'While Shepherds watched their Flocks by Night' was never omitted. I thought it all beautiful."
Miss Shepherd's testimony regarding Mr. Wheaton's revival of the Sunday School can be supplemented by a petition of June 1st, 1843, which was sent to the vestry by a committee composed of James Emott, Jr., James H. Fonda and Theodore Trivett. The committee described the inadequate size of the lecture-room and its lack of light; there were only thirty-seven pews to accommodate one hundred and sixty pupils and twenty-eight teachers; beside whom there were the Rev. Mr. Jelliff, the super- intendent, a register and two librarians; the commit- tee stated that for six months the school had been in-
1 Miss Lydia Booth; she was Principal of Cottage Hill Seminary, which was founded about 1836.
2 A detachment of students from College Hill School (founded 1836), now become Riverview Military Academy, has continued, since this early time, to attend Christ Church.
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creasing so fast that only standing room was then left. Further, they felt that the vestry might be willing to do something to relieve the situation, inasmuch as, hitherto, the school had been not only self-supporting, but, by its contributions the previous winter, averaging five dollars a month, had helped clothe poor children in the parish.
This petition of 1843 was without result then, and Mr. Wheaton utilized the galleries of the church as a solution of the difficulty. But, in 1848, the matter was taken up, and a chapel, or Sunday School room, was erected across the east end of the church. It was a brick building, with brown stone trimmings, and was about sixty feet north and south, by twenty-five east and west. Entrance was at the north end into a vestibule, at the right of which was a small vestry connecting with the church. A subscription in behalf of this building was circulated in September, 1848, and the following signatures obtained :
Isaac I. Balding
$ 10.00
J. H. Fonda
$ 10.00
Richard Bayley
10.00
G. R. Gaylord . 5.00
Eliza Brewster ..
100.00
Mr. Gillender
5.00
Mr. Buttolph
5.00
William Hunt
5.00
Mr. Campbell
2.50
Mrs. Sarah James
10.00
Cooper & Hughson
10.00
Mrs. E. Nicholls
10.00
Mrs. Culver
10.00
R. North .
5.00
William Davies
400.00
Charles H. Ruggles
30.00
Thomas L. Davies
100.00
Mr. Street
5.00
William A. Davies
100.00
(J. R. ? ) Stuyvesant
10.00
Richard D. Davis
30.00
Dr. T. ( ? )
10.00
Mrs. Dickenson
2.00
Elias Trivett
10.00
LeGrand Dodge
5.00
Samuel M. Valentine
10.00
Samuel B. Dutton
2.00
George M. Van Kleeck . 5.00
James Emott, Jr.
25.00
Hubert Van Wagenen . 100.00
The Sunday School met in this building until 1888, when the property on Market street was sold. No written records of the school have been discovered,
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and we are dependent upon the personal recollections of the older members of the congregation for any knowledge of it. Mr. Benjamin C. Van Vliet is the earliest super- intendent remembered. Beside him, are mentioned the Rev. Hiram Jelliff, Mrs. Green, Mrs. Daniel, James Emott, Jr., and Robert Palmer. As nearly as can be determined, Dr. Buel acted as superintendent through the greater part of his rectorate (1847-1866), as did Dr. Cady also (1866-1874). Dr. Cady directed the educa- tional and catechetical work of the school, assisted by laymen who bore the title of superintendent, but whose duties were those of a secretary. The succession of superintendents in his time was: Mr. Benjamin R. Tenney and Mr. Joseph G. Frost, who, each, served a year or two, and then Mr. George M. Van Kleeck. The latter filled a long term (1870-1883?), outlasting Dr. Cady's incumbency, and was followed by his son, Mr. Robert Van Kleeck, after whose resignation, in 1892, Mr. John K. Sague was for fifteen years the faithful and interested superintendent. At present, the Rector of the parish has the oversight of the school.
The lives of George M. Van Kleeck and his son, Robert, exhibit a striking similarity in their relation to the Church. Each was a communicant from early man- hood; a teacher in the Sunday School and superintend- ent; each a vestryman and secretary to the vestry; the father was also for twenty-three years a warden, and his son the treasurer of the Corporation. At the death of Mr. George M. Van Kleeck in 1883, the vestry recorded their appreciation of the manner in which, "unobtru- sively, quietly, earnestly, he has served the parish as vestryman and warden for more than thirty years, with a diligence and devotion that have made him dear to all."
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THE REV. SAMUEL BUEL, S.T.D. RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH, 1847-1866 From a photograph taken in 1864
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These words fitly describe the qualities of both men, than whom Christ Church has had no more unselfish, loyal members. The Te Deum window in the north transept of the present church is a memorial to George M. Van Kleeck and his brother, Edgar, and in the south transept a window has been put in, in memory of Robert Van Kleeck.
Following the addition of the Sunday School room, miscellaneous improvements to the church edifice were its lighting by gas in 1851, the frescoing of the walls and alteration of the pews in 1854, changes in the heating arrangements in 1857, the reseating, painting and graining of the galleries in 1867, and, in 1873, the purchase of a new bell. It will be remembered that the first bell owned by the Church was bought in 1790. In 1837 that was replaced by one weighing 1001 pounds, and costing $363.24, which was obtained from Holbrook and Ware, of Medway, Mass. This second bell cracked in 1873, and another was procured from Meneely and Kimberly, of Troy, New York, which weighed 1215 pounds, and for which was paid the old bell and $279.86 in cash. This third and last bell was first rung at Easter, 1873, and was sold when the new church was opened, since when a bell has not been used.
The most significant step taken, however, was the radical change that was made in the chancel, a change which directly reflected the general drift of the thought of that day. The screen was taken down, the dove put upon the organ in the west gallery, a window was cut in the east wall, the high pulpit vanished, and the Commu- nion Table was set back as an Altar beneath the new stained glass window. A new oak pulpit was put in (which remained in use until Easter, 1906) and placed on
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the south side of the chancel, the reading-desk being on the north side.
For a number of years two mahogany chairs had stood inside the chancel-rail, on either side of the high pulpit. In their place, Mrs. Thomas L. Davies now gave two large oak arm chairs, carved in ecclesiastical design, and upholstered in red velvet, which were only superseded in 1906, when one of them was presented to St. Paul's Church, Pleasant Valley, and the other, with the oak pulpit, to St. James's, Dover Plains, New York.
By tradition, the old mahogany chairs were the gift either of Dr. Reed or of Mr. William Davies. They belong in design to the Chippendale period, and follow, in the detail of their carving (an urn in the center of the back), a model which was introduced by cabinetmakers at Hartford, Connecticut, in the last quarter of the eight- eenth century. They are primarily parlor chairs, and are supposed to have been taken from the house of Dr. Reed or of Mr. Davies to the church; in which case they are probably much older than their age as parish property. When displaced by the new oak chairs they fell upon evil times, were crudely painted by some vandal, and given hard usage in the Sunday School room until rescued and restored by Dr. Ziegenfuss. For some years they were again in the chancel, but, about 1904, they were invalided to the study, where, once more done over, they have now renewed their youth.
The Rev. Dr. Samuel Buel became Rector of Christ Church, September 15th, 1847, and the rearrangement of the chancel was effected in the summer of 1854 under his direction. It was not accomplished without doubts and misgivings on the part of some as to the wisdom of the action. One vestryman, in favor of the new position of
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INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH ERECTED IN 1834 From a photograph taken in 1886
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the Holy Table, saw another (who was a pronounced Low Churchman) with his hands upon his knees, bending and turning to find whether there was a space between the wall and the Table which would preserve its character as a Table, and prevent its being regarded as an Altar. A properly designed oak bracket, which Dr. Buel had had made and put in place as a credence-table, the vestry by formal resolution, ordered removed, and no credence- table was used in the parish until 1888, when the present church was built.
Very shortly after the chancel was changed in 1854, Dr. Buel departed from the custom of his predecessors of removing his surplice before the sermon and preaching in a black gown. The gown is essentially an academic robe, the wearer of which may, or may not, be an ecclesiastic as well, and the old idea of the Episcopal ministry in wearing it in the pulpit was to emphasize their teaching function, as distinct from the priestly, or sacramental, side of their office. As a general custom its use was abandoned in the Episcopal Church about 1865-1870,1 and Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, was there- fore one of the earliest parishes to adopt the use of the surplice in the pulpit. Dr. Buel made the change about 1856, up to which year the Hon. James Emott, 2d, was a member of the parish, and Judge Emott is known to have objected to the innovation. The surplice is an ancient ecclesiastical vestment, and had always been used in the
1 Correspondence, 1910; testimony of the Rev. Dr. W. J. Sea- bury of the General Theological Seminary; in 1866 Dr. Seabury became Assistant to his father, the Rector of the Church of the Annunciation, New York City; the Annunciation was considered one of the most "advanced" parishes in New York, and in it the surplice was first used during the sermon in 1864.
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American Church for all parts of the service except the sermon; in early years in this country it was very full and long, and cut open down the front to allow the passage of the enormous wigs of the wearers. After wigs were no longer to be considered, and the influence of the Oxford Movement was felt, the front was made whole and sacred emblems began to be embroidered on the breast. Its use throughout the whole service was part of the stress then being laid upon the sacraments, and upon the Apostolic Orders of the ministry.
In 1850, a record of sundry disbursements in Christ Church contains the entry "Stoles for Surplices," but this may not refer to what we now know as a stole. A straight, unshaped and unfringed strip, called a scarf, was early part of the academic vesture, and went with the gown, as did the bands; it was so used in the Ameri- can Church, and sometimes incorrectly referred to as a stole. But the stole, proper, is a shaped piece, narrower in the center and wider at the ends, and fringed, which was worn by the clergy at the celebration of the Commu- nion in the primitive days of the Christian Church, and to which, later, came to be attached the symbolic meaning of "the yoke of Christ."1 Its use lapsed in England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and so, naturally, it was at first disregarded in this country. Its restoration followed in the wake of the Oxford Movement, and is but another instance of the changes which took place in the Episcopal Church at the time, when many of the now familiar details of its administra- tion were new in America (though old in history), and when its services acquired a warmth and beauty they
1 The Ritual Reason Why, p. 21; (Charles Walker, London, 1866).
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before had lacked. Whether Dr. Buel wore a scarf or a stole is not known, but Dr. Cady, his successor, began to wear a stole in 1860, and continued to do so after coming to Poughkeepsie in 1866. From Dr. Cady's incumbency is to be dated the weekly celebration of the Holy Com- munion in Christ Church. He began such services in Lent, 1867, knowing, when he did so, that, outside of New York City, not another parish along the waters of the Hudson had instituted the custom. Dr. Cady im- ported from England, for use in Christ Church, sheer and delicate chalice veils, trimmed with lace, and embroidered by the Sisters, and he conducted the service in careful accordance with the Prayer Book. In order to conform to the rubric that prescribes the point at which the un- consecrated elements are to be placed upon the Altar, Dr. Cady used the deep ledge of the window in the east wall in lieu of a credence-table, in which custom Dr. Ziegenfuss followed him.
Only second in importance to the alteration of the chancel, was the development of the music in Christ Church between 1860 and 1870. In the Appendix will be found data showing in detail the evolution of the colonial office of parish clerk into that of the modern choirmaster. The charter in 1773 conferred upon the Rector of the parish power to appoint "a Clerk to assist him in performing divine service," and from 1773 to about 1800 the function of the clerk was to lead the congregation in the responses. By 1802 it would seem that chanting had begun, for the clerk of that day, Joseph Parker, was paid for "tuning the Psalm," and, in 1804, his successor, Mr. Knapp, is spoken of as "singing in the church." The title of chorister is first found in 1805, and, from that time, the old duties of the clerk
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merged imperceptibly with those of the new office which was in process of creation.
The introduction of chanting or singing occasioned, without doubt, the purchase which was made of an organ in 1808, and that, in turn, was followed by the establish- ment of a singing-school, in which the younger members of the congregation were given instruction to fit them to belong to a volunteer choir. Led by a chorister, this volunteer choir, often very numerous, but its proficiency varying in degree, continued until 1865, in which year paid singers were added to it. A few years later a paid quartet, without a chorus, was instituted, and maintained until the new church was built in 1888, with the excep- tion of a short interval (1877-1880) when, from motives of economy, the vestry voted to return to a volunteer chorus.
The custom in Christ Church of holding a special service on Christmas Eve goes back to a very early date. The service is described as having been considered by all Poughkeepsie one of the great events of the year, and the church was always filled to its capacity. Indeed, this very popularity is assigned as the cause of the dis- continuation of it in the sixties, when the crowd became so great that there was no room left for the members of the regular congregation, and the interest and support of the latter thus declined.
The Christmas Eve service is associated with the history of music in the parish because the music was always made a conspicuous feature of the occasion, and the testimony of Mr. Ruggles and of Miss Shepherd has shown how the old hymn, "While Shepherds watched their Flocks by Night," was sung annually for so long that it was synonymous, for them, with all that made the
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evening memorable. The use of greens to decorate the church at Christmas is referred to in 1790,1 and several elderly people have told the writer of the impression made upon them by the contrast in color between the Christmas greens upon the screen behind the pulpit (in the second church, 1834-1854) and the rich crimson of the large pulpit cushion and the desk-hangings.
The observance of Christmas in Poughkeepsie was confined to the Episcopal Church until comparatively recent years, when some entertainment began to be provided for the Sunday Schools near the 25th of Decem- ber, but Christmas Day, itself, is not, even yet, marked by all Churches with services. Christmas trees for the Sunday School were first used in America2 by Dr. Muhlenberg, who founded the Church of the Holy Communion, New York City, was its Rector 1846-1877, and inspired its then unique forms of work. Easter flowers in the chancel were introduced by Dr. Muhlen- berg, and his vested choir of men and boys led the way for many others in this country.
It would be impossible, here, to follow the absorbingly interesting record of Dr. Muhlenberg's life-work, but the thread of connection between it and our own parochial history is that he did much to encourage the intelligent development of Church music, which began in the middle of the nineteenth century, when the hymnody of the Church was enlarged and enriched, and the settings for hymns and chants and anthems improved in quality. To this movement this parish was responsive, and its own interest was augmented by that of the pupils and teachers of Cottage Hill Seminary, many of whom
1 See above, p 97.
2 Tiffany's History of the Protestant Episcopal Church, p. 485.
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belonged to the choir, and by whom Church music was studied. Among the hymns then new was Faber's "Hark, Hark, my soul, angelic songs are swelling," and one who heard it first in the old church, rendered by the pure, fresh voices of the Cottage Hill girls, retains still the force of the impression made by it. This school also introduced here in 18701 "Rejoice, ye pure in heart," which was written in 1865 by Dean Plumptre for the choir festival of Peterborough Cathedral. These two hymns were included in the 1868 edition2 of Hymns Ancient and Modern, a collection published in England in 1861, which at once was popular on this side of the water, and which prepared the way for our own Hymnal, that, in 1871, was put forth by the General Convention, and bound separately from the Prayer Book.
The change in Christ Church from a chorus choir to a quartet was preceded by the purchase, in 1862, of a new organ, the fourth the parish had bought. The first it owned was installed in 1808, as has been seen; the second was bought in 1821 of Thomas Hall of New York; the third in 1837 from Holbrook and Ware, of Medway, Massachusetts (the price paid for it being $1,500.00); and the fourth from Jardine and Son, of New York, at a cost of $1,300.00 in cash, and the old organ, which was valued at $500.00. A subscription was circulated to raise money for the fourth organ, and $3,063.00 was collected for that, and for the attendant expenses; the latter were heavy, as the new instrument was placed in the southeast corner of the church, instead of in the west gallery, and the change of location necessitated
1 The Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, June 17th, 1870.
2 Dictionary of Hymnology, edited by John Julian, Vicar of Wincobank, Sheffield, pp. 486, 897.
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extensive work by masons and carpenters. The names of the contributors to the organ fund of 1862 afford an excellent idea of the supporting membership of the parish then:
A. Joseph E. Allen.
B. Mrs. Susan Ball; the Hon. Joseph F. Barnard; Mrs. Ed- ward Bech; James Blanchard; Stephen M. Buckingham.
C. S. Cleveland; Ulysses Cole; George Cornwell; Thomas Coster; Mrs. Charles Crooke.
D. Mrs. Alice Davies; John W. Davies; Thomas L. Davies; Mrs. Thomas L. Davies; William A. Davies; Le Grand Dodge; Mrs. Le Grand Dodge; J. De Puyster Douw.
E. Joseph East; the Hon. E. Q. Eldridge; Mrs. E. Q. El- dridge.
G. George R. Gaylord; William Gibson.
H. Mrs. John W. Hammersley; Mrs. Elizabeth Hart; Mrs. Harvey; Mrs. Hillis; Barney Hinckley; Mrs. Barney Hinckley; Mrs. James Hooker; Mrs. Hulme.
J. Beekman James; Richard James.
K. Mrs. Alice Knill.
M. Mary Mitchell; Sarah Mitchell.
N. Thomas Newbold; Miss Louisa Nichols; Reuben North.
P. Dr. Edward H. Parker; Miss Lydia I. Phinney; Isaac I. Platt.
R. Mrs. Sarah Robinson; Mrs. Rowe.
S. Mrs. Leonard Sackett; Mrs. Stanwix.
T. Mrs. Charlotte Taylor; Benjamin R. Tenney.
V. Edgar M. Van Kleeck; George M. Van Kleeck; Sarah Van Kleeck; Mrs. Van Vliet; Mrs. Van Wagenen.
W. Mrs. Worrall.
The writer is indebted to Miss Helen J. Andrus for a knowledge of the relation of Christ Church to the devel- opment of music in Poughkeepsie in the first half of the nineteenth century. Miss Andrus has in preparation a history of music in this city, and from her it is learned
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that the recorded musical annals of the place begin with the first organ, organist and choristers of this parish. Following the customs inherited from the mother Church of England, Christ Church gave encouragement to the musical portion of its services very early, as compared with its immediate ecclesiastical neighbors. There re- mained among the latter vestiges of a racial and political prejudice against all things English, and from this fact it resulted that, for many years, "the English Church" stood alone in the possession of an organ and in the effort to promote the artistic side of worship.
So far as can be determined, in the absence of positive documentary evidence, the only organist in Christ Church, from about 1809 until 1862, was Abel Gunn, a picturesque character, who began his career as a youth- ful genius, and ended it as a local institution. His term of office was such an unprecedentedly long one that, to judge from an anecdote, describing the manner of its ending, he came to regard himself as all powerful in his particular sphere. An inimitable story teller, who has but just gone from us, sang in her youth in the volunteer choir, and she used to relate that, from the time of the arrival of Dr. Buel, as Rector, there was friction between him and Mr. Gunn. The friction waxed, until, finally, one Sunday, it culminated. The choir, having finished the anthem that preceded the sermon, the Rector rose to give out his text, supposing the organ also to have stopped; but, as the choir knew, the music had not entirely died away, and, as Dr. Buel mounted the pulpit, it burst forth again; he retired and waited until, a second time, it faded, when again he rose; but again the organ swelled and rolled. "Three times the music dwindled down; three times the Rector rose; three
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times he had to wait for this voluntary to cease; and then," (so the story ran), " Abel had to go!"
While the manner in which the organist's irritation was expressed was not endorsed by his contemporaries, it was regarded with secret amusement and sympathy, for the irritation, itself, was well understood. An account of Dr. Buel's administration would fail in truth- ful completeness if it ignored the fact that that excellent man was not temperamentally qualified for success in the pastoral relation. With all his learning and his recognized integrity of purpose and earnest application to duty, which, severally, commanded for him respect and confidence, Dr. Buel provoked explosions from otherwise perfectly peaceable parishioners, and this solely because of his peculiarities of manner and lack of penetration and adaptability in personal contact with people. No questions of principle were ever involved, and these encounters are now so long gone by that their heat has passed; they can be seen in the light of that tolerance for all, which is gained by the student of human nature from observation of the inter-play of marked personalities.
The withdrawal of James Emott, Jr., from Christ Church in 18561 grew out of his and the Rector's in- compatibility, the climax of which is said to have been reached when Dr. Buel preached a sermon that was not sufficiently opposed to slavery for such an Abolitionist as the second Judge Emott. So brilliant a man as he is an honor to any parish, and that which was our loss was the gain of St. Paul's. Dr. Buel's views, before war actually began, were, possibly, colored a little by his family ties; his wife was a Southern woman, and her 1 Dr. Buel's communicant list, Parish Register, Vol. 2, p. 438.
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