USA > New York > Dutchess County > Poughkeepsie > The records of Christ church, Poughkeepsie, New York, Vol I > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
The Convention of the Diocese of New York elected John Reade of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, as one of the lay delegates from the diocese to the General Con- ventions of the Church held in 1801 and 1808. He took his seat in 1801, but failed to do so in 1808, probably because of his last illness, his death occurring in October of that year. Mr. Reade came to Poughkeepsie, in 1794 or 1795, from Red Hook, where he had had large property interests in a storehouse and landing on the river, and in land. His wife, Catherine Livingston, was a daughter and heir of Robert G. Livingston of Red Hook, who had owned much Dutchess County real estate, and Mr. and Mrs. Reade's position in Poughkeepsie was that of people of wealth and breeding. They at once took a pew in Christ Church, and Mr. Reade was made a
1 Henry Ruggles Esq., late of New York City, deceased.
115
The Records of Christ Church
vestryman, and then a warden, and was sent as delegate to the Diocesan Convention. Mrs. Reade's niece, Cornelia Livingston, and her husband, John Crooke (son of the Charles Crooke who helped build the first church), also established their home in Poughkeepsie, during the period this chapter considers, and made part of the congregation of Christ Church.
Randall S. Street, one of the lawyers of Poughkeepsie, who was District Attorney several years, and a member of Congress, came into the parish at this time, and the years in the vestry of Stephen Hoyt, Ebenezer Baldwin, Jabez Bosworth and John L. Fonda, all substantial citizens, were also begun now.
The most conspicuous single event during the rector- ate of Philander Chase was the assembling of the Dio- cesan Convention of 1805 in Christ Church. Yellow fever had raged so violently in New York City in 1798, 1799 and 1800, that no Conventions were held in those years, and, in the summer of 1805, it was again epidemic, which is undoubtedly the reason that the Convention did not meet in New York. But, while the Journal of the Convention states that "the town of Poughkeepsie (was) appointed by the Bishop as the place of meeting," a knowledge of the personalities of the Bishop and of the Rector of Christ Church still further explains the Bishop's act. The first Bishop of New York (Samuel Provoost) was succeeded in 1801 by Benjamin Moore, Rector of Trinity Parish, a man of much beauty of character, gentleness and refinement, who was greatly loved, but who was not an administrator of affairs. In charge of Christ Church was Philander Chase, young, tireless in energy, ever alive to an opportunity, who is said to have felt much regret, when he entered upon his
116
The Records of Christ Church
first Rectorship, that the privilege of meeting his brother clergy in Convention was lost to him by the omission of the sessions of 1799 and 1800. Here, now, was his chance, and there can be little doubt that his eagerness pressed upon Bishop Moore the advantages of Poughkeepsie as a place for the Convention to meet, urging its central location and accessibility by its own lines of sloops, its excellent inns, hospitable homes and social attractive- ness, and the wisdom of assembling there rather than for the Convention not to be held. On October 1st and 2d, therefore, the representatives of the diocese sat in Christ Church, delegates being present from as far north as Ballston, and west as Utica, and from New York City, Hempstead, Yonkers, Albany, &c., &c.
Confirmation may have been administered in this visit of Bishop Moore's to Poughkeepsie, for, in the sum- mer of 1805, Mr. Chase had spent part of the Commu- nion alms for "clothes for Children to attend Church particularly Confirmation," and it is hardly probable that the Bishop made two journeys up the river within so short a time. The Journal of the Convention contains Mr. Chase's report as Rector of Christ Church, Pough- keepsie, and of Trinity Church, Fishkill, the particulars of which were:
Baptisms
Communicants
Christ Church . . 48 (14 infant, 34 adult)
53 Trinity Church 27 ( 9 infant, 18 adult) about 30.
Philander Chase's Autobiography, which was written after he had passed the severer toils of his strenuous life as Missionary Bishop in Ohio and Illinois, contains a few references to his stay in Poughkeepsie. Opposite the parsonage, on the southwest corner of Cannon and
117
The Records of Christ Church
Academy streets, stood the Dutchess County Academy,1 from which Academy street takes its name. This famous school was started at Fishkill, and then moved to Pough- keepsie, and in 1792 was incorporated by the Regents of the State of New York. In his Autobiography Bishop Chase wrote: "The salary afforded by the parish in Poughkeepsie being inadequate to the writer's comforta- ble support, he had recourse to the common expedient of school keeping. At first this was in a private way; but, being earnestly solicited, he at length took charge of the public academy in that place. His pupils were numerous, and from the most respectable families in New York and other places;" "about half were well advanced youths, and the other half were small boys of seven or nine years of age." "The duties of so large a school were of themselves most arduous, and, blended as they were, with those of two parishes, Fishkill and Pough- keepsie, they became insupportable. Nothing but the strongest constitution and the hope of better times, under the sustaining hand of a merciful Providence, kept the writer from sinking. To add to the load that bore heavy upon him, it pleased God to threaten his beloved wife with consumptive symptoms, so that if she recovered it must be under the influence of a warmer climate. Ac- cordingly, in the year 1805, the Bishop of New York
1 The building (erected between 1790 and 1792) is still in exist- ence, removed from its first site to the northeast corner of North Clinton and Thompson streets. An amusing traditional anecdote has been handed down in Christ Church which relates that, after Mr. Chase took charge of the Academy and the school had increased to large numbers, he, personally, erected an addition to the building; but, with characteristic shrewdness, he retained title to this addition by not attaching it at any point to the original structure, and, when he resigned as Principal, he placed his property on wheels and trundled it off.
118
THE RT. REV. PHILANDER CHASE, D.D. PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH 1843-1852
அதில்கூடு
F
The Records of Christ Church
having been apprised of his wishes, and, having received from New Orleans the invitation of the Protestants in that place to send them a clergyman of the Episcopal Church (the Bishop) appointed the writer to go thither and see what could be effected in the permanent organization of the Church in that city. So undefined, however, were the means of support offered, and so expensive was said to be the place for the maintenance of a family, that it seemed hazardous to move even his wife with him at once thither. He saw no way but to go first himself, and see what could be done, and return for his family as soon as possible."
The reasons for Mr. Chase's resignation of the Rector- ship of Christ and Trinity Churches were amply sufficient to induce his action, but his Autobiography gives no hint of the manner of his departure, nor of the excitement caused by it. He had consulted the Bishop, probably when the latter was in Poughkeepsie attending the Convention, the first week in October, but had failed to acquaint the vestry with what was in his mind, unless, possibly, he had spoken to Mr. John Reade, individually. Then, not having given notice to the vestry of his in- tentions, he went to New York, took counsel again with the Bishop, and, without returning to Poughkeepsie, sailed for New Orleans on October 20th.
On October 23d a meeting of the vestry was held, at which "Mr. John Davis read a paragraph from a Letter wrote by Mr. Chase to Mr. John Reade, dated in New York 19th Oct. Instant, as follows, viz:
When I left you last there was a degree of uncertainty at- tending my contemplated Jaunt to New Orleans, of course could make no definite Communication to the Vestry of the Church. By the advice of my fellow Presbyters, and direc-
119
The Records of Christ Church
tion of the Bishop, it is now determined that I shall go. My passage is taken, and tomorrow morning, if God permits, I shall sail. You do me a favour by Signifying to the Members of the Vestry, as from me, that I shall be absent from my Parish two or three months, and perhaps longer. I have written the above at the particular direction of the Bishop, to prevent any misunderstanding. This being the case, you will, I hope par- don the liberty I have taken,
"Resolved, unanimously, that the above communica- tion from the Rev'd Mr. Chase is very extraordinary, and the inference is that he has abandoned this Church. And, as he has not exhibited any complaint to this Vestry, we are to presume he has none, but has merely gone from other considerations.
"Resolved, that Mr. John Davis be a Committee to write to the Bishop, Stating the Situation of this Church, and requesting his paternal advice."
At this distance of time, the situation thus created provokes a smile that is made possible by perspective and the absence of irritation. How easy it is to picture on the one hand the heedless, impetuous Chase, and his unpremeditated, unprepared-for departure, and, on the other, the gray-headed vestrymen, indignant at the lack of consideration shown them! To doubt Mr. Chase's good intention is impossible; to justify his method diffi- cult. For, in leaving in October, he did not resign his Rectorship, and neither did he make provision for his parochial charge during his absence. He simply dashed off to New Orleans to investigate conditions there, and left matters at home to take care of themselves. He reached New Orleans on November 13th, and a month later, having decided that a parish could be organized in that city, and a home provided for his family, he wrote
120
The Records of Christ Church
to Poughkeepsie a letter which was read at a vestry meeting on March 3d, 1806:
To the Vestry of Christ Church Poughkeepsie
Gentlemen,
I take the liberty to signify that I have resigned into the hands of the Right Reverend the Bishop of the State of New York, the Rectorship of the Church to which you are a Vestry; with sincere wishes for your prosperity,
I am Gentlemen
Your Friend & Humble Servant
Philander Chase.
City of New Orleans December 1805.
The vestry passed a resolution declaring "the above Communication as not in form, but that the Parish has been Vacant since the 5th of Nov'r last." The 5th of November was the date upon which the articles of agreement with Mr. Chase were signed in 1799, and from which his rectorate was reckoned annually, and hence he was just at the close of his sixth year when he took his leave so unceremoniously in October, 1805. He came North for his family in 1806, after six months' successful work in New Orleans, and, on July 29th, the articles of agreement between himself and Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, were disannulled.
To obtain a successor to Mr. Chase, the vestry re- solved on May 28th, 1806, "that the Secretary write Bishop Moore and Bishop Jarvis informing them of the vacancy in this Church, and the wish of Vestry to fill it as soon as a suitable Candidate may be found,-And should either of them know of one whose talents they may judge calculated to render his services useful in this place, the earliest information would be esteemed a favour by the Vestry."
121
1
The Records of Christ Church
Whether Bishop Jarvis of Connecticut responded to this request the Vestry Minutes do not disclose, but, at all events, Barzillai Bulkley, a young man whom he had ordained Deacon the year before, came from Connecticut to visit the vacant congregation, and was in- vited to remain as its Rector. Trinity Church, Fish- kill, joined cordially in the call to Mr. Bulkley, a letter from Matthew Mesier, warden, saying that they were very happy to do so, "and hope the good understanding our Churches have had together may always continue." It was agreed that Mr. Bulkley's rectorate should date from August 17th, 1806, and that he should give two- thirds of his time to Christ Church and one-third to Trinity, and have the use of the parsonage at Pough- keepsie.
Few events marked his three years' residence in the parish, but he left behind him a carefully kept register, which records that he performed in that time forty-nine baptisms and twelve marriages, and officiated at sixteen funerals. One of the infant baptisms by him was that of William Davies' son, William Augustus, who, as a man, was such a devoted friend to the Church. A marriage he mentioned in 1809 was that of Clarissa Badger, daughter of the then warden, Ebenezer Badger, to Para- clete Potter, of whom more is heard, later, in the story of the parish. Among the funerals Mr. Bulkley conduct- ed were those of Major Andrew Billings and Mrs. Gilbert Livingston and John Reade, who all died in 1808.
He also did some extra-parochial pastoral work; at the Diocesan Convention held in October, 1807, he reported that "the latter part of last spring I visited the parish in Washington,1 attended Divine service, and baptized
1 St. Peter's, Lithgow.
122
The Records of Christ Church
four children," to which the Convention responded by directing him to officiate "at Washington one Sunday in November and one in May, and at such other times as may be deemed convenient." In 1808 the Convention again commissioned him to visit Washington, and New- burgh beside.
At the beginning of this chapter reference was made to Mr. Beardsley's long contention for the possession of part of the glebe. In 1805 this matter reached a con- clusion, but, rightly to understand the question involved, it is necessary to turn back to the time of the original purchase of the farm, when Mr. Beardsley offered to buy one-third of it himself. He received a deed then from the Ostroms, the former owners, conveying to him the portion known as the twenty-three acre lot, and he enjoyed the use of the same throughout his residence in Poughkeepsie. But, at the time that he made applica- tion to the Governor and Council for a charter of in- corporation, and for a confirmation of title to the glebe- land, he testified that all the land was held for the Church by deeds of trust, and the charter therefore vested the title to the whole farm in the Corporation.
Mr. Beardsley's removal from Poughkeepsie, as a Tory, having been effected by the Council of Safety, an attempt was made to have the twenty-three acre lot confiscated, as land which he, a disaffected person, had held; but, on the evidence that the charter had conferred the title upon the Church, the Commissioners of For- feiture dropped the case, and the property remained in the possession of the Corporation.
No sooner, however, was peace declared, than the vestry began to suffer harassments from the manner in which the lot had been bargained for. Mr. Beardsley .
123
The Records of Christ Church
had agreed to be responsible for £200 of the £600 cost of the glebe, but, instead of making a cash payment, it now transpired that he and Captain Peter Harris had entered into a joint bond for £300 to Mrs. Ostrom, each promising that they, or their representatives, would pay £4 apiece per annum to her during her life. Captain Harris disappeared from connection with this and all other local affairs early in the war, and Mrs. Ostrom, who was a poor woman, lost the interest due from him. Mr. Beardsley kept up his own payments until his re- moval to New York, when he ceased to send remittances. The Ostrom family made several requests to the vestry to assume the obligation, and, in 1797, upon the advice of Jacob Radcliffe, attorney, this was done, the Corpora- tion paying in full to the heirs of Mrs. Ostrom (she having died) the amount due upon the bond from Cap- tain Harris and from Mr. Beardsley, from the time their payments lapsed to Mrs. Ostrom's death. It was con- sidered that this action extinguished any shadow of a claim on Mr. Beardsley's part.
Meanwhile, he continued to urge his title, and also to present charges against the Corporation for salary unpaid in the last year of his stay in Poughkeepsie, for two barns he had built, and for sundry other disburse- ments on his part while here. In 1797 he sent his son, Bartholomew Crannell Beardsley, to Poughkeepsie, and in 1803 an attorney, Samuel Nicholls, neither of whom reached any agreement with the vestry. Finally, in April, 1805, he came himself, now a man of seventy-three, but still filled with spirit and energy.
From April to July a deadlock existed in the negotia- tions between him and the vestry, broken at last by an offer from Mr. Beardsley to relinquish all his claims if the
124
The Records of Christ Church
Corporation would divide with him, equally, the twenty- three acre lot. On July 1st the' vestry voted to accept this proposition, but declared, in doing so, "that they absolutely deny that he, the said John Beardsley, has any right, Title, or demand to the lands, * * but that any Lands that may be Quit-claimed to the said John Beardsley is considered as a donation, and Testimony of our good will and affection towards him."
Final papers were signed on July 24th, fifteen acres being deeded1 to Mr. Beardsley, and twelve retained by the Church, a survey that was made for the division having shown the lot to contain twenty-seven acres, and the division being made with respect to quality as well as quantity.
Mr. Beardsley at once exchanged2 his fifteen acres with his son, Bartholomew Crannell Beardsley, for certain land at Maugerville, New Brunswick; Bartholo- mew Crannell Beardsley sold3 them in turn the next year for $1,500.00, and so ended the involved case of the twenty-three acre lot.
In September, 1806, the Church sold, for $1,800.00, the twelve acres which had remained in its possession, subject to a mortgage for $1,250.00, which mortgage was paid off in 1821.4. The purchaser made a cash pay- ment of $550.00, and the. vestry appropriated this ready money to improve the interior of the church by the erection of a gallery. John Davis, William Davies and Peter B. Morgan were appointed a committee to superintend the work of building, and their original
1 Dutchess County Clerk's records, deeds, Liber 19, p. 255.
2 Dutchess County Clerk's records, deeds, Liber 19, p. 275.
3 Dutchess County Clerk's records, deeds, Liber 19, p. 458.
4 Dutchess County Clerk's records, mortgages, Liber 11, p. 382.
125
The Records of Christ Church
contract with the carpenters gives the details of the design followed. The gallery extended on each side of the church and across the west end; stairs at each side of the church door led to the floor of the gallery, the stairs having a handrail, and being "enclosed under the handrail with panel work." The platforms of the stair- case were enclosed "so as to form apartments (with) a pannel door in each." The whole gallery was supported by ten columns, its front "pannelled, with pillasters over the columns, a cornish below and laping above the pannel work, or on the top thereof."
Mr. Chase had previously had some minor improve- ments made in the church, principally in the chancel; nine yards of "Carpoting" were bought, and nine pounds ( !) of hair "to Stuff ye Cushion;" the hangings were mended, the pulpit painted, and "Nobs and Rings" supplied for it. For the session of the Convention in 1805 preparation was made by the purchase of eight and a half yards of "Green stuff for curtains round the back part of the Desk," and of "two Curtain Rods behind the pulpit;" also of several branch candlesticks and sconces. Oil was used, as well as candles, for lighting the church for the Convention, but it was not until the winter of 1808 that a stove was put in, prior to which it is to be supposed that the congregation had shivered over private foot stoves and hot bricks in the long winters.
The successful erection of the gallery in 1807 was fol- lowed by the suggestion in 1808 that an organ should be bought, hearing of which, John Meacham, Jr., of Hartford, Connecticut, organ builder, asked that an organ he had on hand might be given a trial; he offered, if the Church would send on a wagon to bring it over from Hartford, to come with it himself and set it up, and also said that
126
127
The Records of Christ Church
Colonel William Blodgett, organist, of Hartford, would accompany him to Poughkeepsie, demonstrate the qual- ity of the instrument, and give lessons upon it to Pough- keepsie musicians. Mr. Meacham's letter of August 16th, 1808, enclosed Colonel Blodgett's recommendation of the organ:
To whom it may concern
At the request of Mr. John Meachum to examine an Organ which he has for disposal, and informed by him that applica- tion had been made for one by a Gentelman of Poughkeepsie, I did examine an Organ which he has, and deem it a good one of its size, containing three stops-Viz Stop Diapason- Principle and Twelfth, all in good order. These stops are the most used for Church Music, and are encased very handsomely with ornimental pipes in front, a good sett of Keys, and regis- ters, and the bellows and pedal are also good.
Its height is about eight feet, and its breadth four feet and four inches, embellished on the top with four gilt urns and the case well imitated mahogany, with doors to communicate to any part which may at any time need a repair or for tuning. Its appearance will embellish any Church.
I have repeatedly performed on this Organ, and was ever well pleased with it, as has been many others who are good judges, and masters of music.
William Blodgett.
The organ reached Poughkeepsie, and was accepted by the vestry in October, the 18th of which month a subscription was circulated to raise money to pay for it, $300.00 being the purchase price; $130.00 was thus procured, and the balance was paid six months later out of the treasury. Those who subscribed in 1808 were:
Ebenezer Badger $ 5.00 James Emott
$ 10.00
Joseph Bosworth
5.00 John L. Fonda
5.00
Jacob Bush
5.00 Stephen Hoyt 4.00
Sarah Cunningham
5.00
R. James
5.00
William Davies
20.00
Mary Ludlow
5.00
John Davis
10.00
Peter B. Morgan 4.00
127
The Records of Christ Church
Peter R. Maison 5.00
Chester Parsons 10.00
Bartholomew Noxon
1.00
Paraclete Potter 2.00
Robert Noxon
4.00
Philo Ruggles 5.00
George Peters Oakley
5.00 Randall S. Street 5.00
Thomas J. Oakley
5.00
James L. Van Kleeck 5.00
May 1st, 1809, Colonel Blodgett submitted a bill to the vestry for "playing the organ in Church," and "for tuition to Gunn and others," which action, insignificant in itself, reveals an interesting fact. "Gunn," whom Colonel Blodgett instructed, was Abel Gunn, a boy of nine, and by nature a musician, who was organist for Christ Church from his earliest youth until 1862. He was also a maker of violins, which were highly valued in their day. His father, Abel Gunn, Sr., a veteran of the Revolution, came to Poughkeepsie before 1796 from New Milford, Connecticut, where his family had been one of substantial influence many years, and, in the presence of this household in Poughkeepsie is found, perhaps, one explanation of the call to the Rev. Barzillai Bulkley to become Rector of Christ Church, Mrs. Bulkley having been Mary Gunn of New Milford.
The Bulkleys left Poughkeepsie in August, 1809, and the vestry directed John Davis, warden, to "repair to , the City of New York to confer with the Bishop, Clergy, & others, take their advice and aid in procuring for this parish a suitable character as pastor thereof." Mr. Davis acted promptly, and presented this memorial to Bishop Moore in the latter's dual capacity as Rector of Trinity Corporation, and Bishop of New York:
The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Trinity · Church in the City of New York.
The Memorial of John Davis, Senior Warden of Christ Church of Poughkeepsie, in behalf of the Vestry thereof, most Respectfully Sheweth, that their Church from Sundry Causes
128
The Records of Christ Church
hereinafter mentioned, is on the decline, and now destitute of a Rector.
That she has, in the course of three or four years, been ex- tremely unfortunate in loosing some of her principal members by Death. She has lost five who were zealous in her cause, the major part of them members in full communion, and all of them Vestrymen at the time of their death.
And she has also lost Several by Removals, all of whom contributed liberally to the Support and maintenance of the Church. Their families are broken up and gone, all but one, and their places not filled up by others.
That from the Exertions lately made, and are still making, in the Dutch and Baptist Congregations, our contribution list is very materially lessened.
From these reasons, they find themselves unable to raise funds that are Sufficient to Support a gentleman fitly qualified to fill the rectory of their Church, and therefore pray the aid of the Rector, Church wardens, and Vestrymen of Trinity Church in the City of New York.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.