USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > Newport > Annals of Trinity church, Newport, Rhode Island, 1698-1821 > Part 16
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Your most affectionate and very humble Servants. April 5, 1796. Mr. Auchmuty having presented to the Vestry a lease duly executed by Richard Harrison, Esq., of New York, of Mr. Kay's estate, agreeably to a vote passed by them, at a meeting on the 30th day of June last, it is voted and resolved: that the Wardens sign the counter lease, in behalf of the Minister, Wardens and Vestry and transmit the same to Mr. Harrison.
The Wardens informed the Vestry that they had received the three hundred dollars, which he had promised to make them a present of, in order to shingle the church, and that they had lodged the same in the Rhode Island Bank.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
Easter Monday, April 3, 1796. John Handy and Robt. N. Auchmuty were elected Wardens, and Wm. R. Robinson and Saunders Malbone were added to the Vestry.
Messrs. Christ. Champlin, Geo. Gibbs, Francis Malbone and John Bours, the Standing Committee, Mr. Auchmuty having declined to serve longer as Clerk of the Vestry, Mr. Bours was elected as Clerk, to serve through the ensuing year. John Dyer was continued as Clerk of the Church, and Daniel Vernon was continued as sexton. Mr. Berkenhead having offered to play on the organ, for whatever allowance any of the congregation may be pleased to make him, his proposal was accepted.
April 7th, 1796. The vote and resolve following, after a very full and particular deliberation, passed unanimously :
Whereas, the estate in the Town of Newport, late belonging to Nathaniel Kay, Esq., and bequeathed by him, in his last will and testament, in trust, to the Minister, Wardens and Vestry for the time being, of Trinity Church, for ever, for the support and main- tenance of a school-master, Episcopally ordained, to instruct ten poor boys in grammar and the mathematics gratis, and to assist the Minister of said Church; hath been found from long experience to produce but a small and inadequate income for the benevolent purpose designed by the donor, by reason of the buildings and fences falling into decay, and from other unavoidable causes, there- fore, voted and resolved: that the offer made to us by Richard Harrison, Esq., of New York, and accepted, as from the record thereof made of the 30th day of June last on this book of Church records, will appear, to take a lease of the mansion house, out- houses, garden, and lot of land adjoining, containing about seven acres, for the term of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, to com- mence from the 25th day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, at the annual rent of three hundred silver dollars, or silver bullion equivalent thereto, be complied with, and that a proper lease be accordingly executed by the Wardens to the said Richard Harrison. And it is further voted and resolved, that the said an- nual rent of three hundred dollars, or silver bullion equivalent
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
thereto, together with the rent of several small lots of land, situated and lying at the south part of the town, belonging to and being part of the aforesaid estate, bequeathed by said Nathaniel Kay, be re- ligiously and bona fide applied to answer and fulfil the benevolent design of the said Nathaniel Kay; and that Messrs. Christopher Champlin, George Gibbs, John Bours and John Handy, be and hereby they are appointed a Standing Committee to carry said will into execution, by obtaining a person properly qualified to enjoy said living, who, upon his being approved of by the Minister, War- dens and Vestry, shall receive the whole amount of the rents of said estate, as aforesaid.
But as some time may elapse before such person can be obtained, it is voted and resolved: that the committee aforesaid collect all the rents of said Richard Harrison, from time to time, as they become due, and put the same to interest, upon the best terms they can, at their discretion, and that the principal, with the interest thereon, until said school-master and assistant enter upon his living, as aforesaid, shall be made use of and appropriated (together with such other donations as may be obtained for the purpose) to the building of a school-house on the lot of land where the former church school- house stood, or on some other lot, in the opinion of the committee, more commodiously situated for a school-house. And that the said committee may proceed in exact conformity to the aforesaid resolves, the Clerk of the Vestry is hereby desired to furnish them an au- thenticated copy thereof, having first entered them in the Church book of records.
And whereas, there is a considerable sum of money now due for the rent of the several lots of land at the south part of the Town, as aforementioned, it is voted and resolved, that said committee be re- quested to use their best endeavors to collect the same, together with the future rents of said lots, as they become due, and appropri- ate the same to the schooling as many poor boys belonging to the Church, under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Smith, as the money collected will allow of. And that the said committee make report of their doings to the Minister, Wardens and Vestry, on Easter Monday, annually, or oftener, if judged necessary.
Attest,
J. BOURS,
Clerk of Vestry.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
In consequence of permission obtained from the General Assembly of the State, to dispose of a lot of land in North Kingston, be- queathed some years past, by Nathaniel Norton, of Newport, to this Church, directing that the yearly rent obtained therefor should be enjoyed by the Rector of the said Church for the time being ; and it having been found from experience that said lot, from a variety of causes, had yielded but a trifling sum, it was, therefore, resolved, that the said lot should be disposed of by the Wardens, and the money received for the same, appropriated to purchase a lot of land adjoining, Westerly, the Church burial ground, of Thomas Wick- ham, agent for the heirs of the late James Honyman; and that the Rector of the Church for the time being, shall be entitled to have the use and improvement of said lot, and shall be entitled also to a fee for every corpse interred within the same.
August 28th, 1796. Whereas, a marble monument, to the memory of the late worthy Rector of this Church, the Rev. Marmaduke Browne and Ann his wife, sent from Ireland by their son, the Honble Arthur Browne, of said Kingdom, hath been received and erected in the Church by Mr. Bours, agreeable to permission heretofore granted for that purpose ; it is voted and resolved, by the congrega- tion, that we are highly gratified by having so elegant an ornament added to Trinity Church, to perpetuate the remembrance of two persons, deservedly esteemed while living, and recollected with pleasure by an affectionate congregation ; and that Mr. Bours be re- quested to signify the same to Mr. Browne.
April 12th, 1797. The Rev. Mr. Smith, having informed the con- gregation that he had accepted a call to the congregation at Nor- walk, Connecticut, this day embarked with his family, to enter upon his new charge, after having been paid by the Wardens the balance due to him for his salary.
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
CHAPTER XIV.
1797-1800.
EASTER MONDAY, April 17, 1797. William Crooke and William R. Robinson, chosen Wardens.
Vestrymen : Francis Brinley, Christopher Champlin, George Gibbs, Henry Hunter, John Bours, Thomas Wickham, Francis Malbone, Benjamin Brenton,221 Stephen Deblois, Henry Sherburne, John Handy, William Crooke, William Littlefield, Robert N. Auchmuty, William R. Robinson, Saunders Malbone. John Bours, Clerk of Vestry; Joseph Dyer, Clerk of Church ; Daniel Vernon, sexton.
Voted : that Messrs. Bours, Handy and Auchmuty be the dele- gates from this Church at the next annual convention.
Voted : that Messrs. David Olyphant, Francis Brinley, Christo- pher Champlin, John Bours and Robert N. Auchmuty, with the Wardens, be a committee to consult upon a plan for settling and sup- porting a minister.
May 14, 1797. The committee appointed on Easter Monday last to consult upon a plan for settling and supporting a minister, having now reported the same, voted : that it be accepted, and that the Wardens use their endeavors to complete the same.
Voted : that Mr. Bours and the Wardens be a committee to write
221 Benjamin Brenton was a direct descendant of William Brenton. In 1758 he was an officer in the Provincial regiment sent to the support of the troops then before Louisburg. In 1796 he was in business in Newport in a small way, and subsequently was taking boarders in the Lopez House, on Thames Street. In 1810 his wife, Rachel Cooke, daughter of Silas Cooke, purchased the small house on Church Street that afterwards passed into the hands of Mrs. Mary S. Hunter, and was recently razed. There he resided with his family till he died, February 23, 1830, at the age of 93 years.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
to the Rev. John S. J. Gardiner, at Boston, and request the favor of him to come to Newport, and spend a few Sundays with us.
Resolved: that the fee for the burial of any person in the new burial-ground be, for the future, twelve dollars-eight of them to go to the Rector, and the other four to be applied to keeping the fences in repair.
At a meeting of the congregation on Sunday, August 6, 1797 : Whereas, the Rev. John Sylvester J. Gardiner, Assistant Minister of Trinity Church in Boston, in consequence of an invitation from the committee appointed for that purpose at a meeting of the congrega- tion on Sunday afternoon, the 14th day of May last, has come to Newport, and hath officiated this and the last Sunday to our entire satisfaction, it is therefore voted and resolved (Nomine contradicente) : that the said Rev. John Sylvester J. Gardiner be settled as Rector of this Church, and that he be allowed and paid, as a salary, at the rate of five hundred dollars per annum, in quarterly payments, to commence from the time of his salary ceasing in Boston ; and that he have the use and improvement of the parsonage-house and lot, together with all the perquisites to which our former Rectors were entitled; and that Mr. Bours, with the Wardens, be a committee to wait upon Mr. Gardiner, and deliver him a copy of these resolu- tions.
September 17, 1797. Voted by the congregation : that a letter received from the Rev. John S. J. Gardiner by the Wardens be entered on the book of records of the Church as follows :
Brookline, September 11, 1797.
Gentlemen :
When I had last the pleasure of seeing you, I was in full expec- tation of accepting the rectorship of your Church, to which I was the more strongly inclined from the unanimity that prevailed in my election; but as I considered that my future happiness would in a great measure depend on the event, I thought it prudent to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages that might result from my
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
acceptance or refusal of your proposal, previous to any final deter- mination. On the one hand, I reflected that I might prove the in- strument in the hands of Providence of organizing a scattered Church, and of reuniting a divided people ; on the other hand, I was deterred from the undertaking from a sense of its extreme difficulty, and by the fear that my best exertions would prove abortive. I thought, also, that the salary you had voted was a very inadequate compensation for the greatness of the risk, and that, though it was much to you, in your present situation, to give, it was very little for me to receive. Whilst I was thus wavering in my mind, two cir- cumstances occurred which at length determined me, though with great reluctance, to decline your offer. Mrs. Gardiner expressed stronger disinclination than I expected, to remove to a strange place, where she would have new friendships to form, and new habits to acquire; and the Church, desirous of retaining me, evinced their approbation and attachment by raising my present salary to eight hundred dollars. From every motive of gratitude and interest I am induced therefore to remain where I am, and I doubt not you will acquiesce in the reasonableness and propriety of my determination. I should have declined your proposal with more regret, were there not a very promising young man now ready to accept an advanta- geous settlement in the Episcopal Church. The gentleman I allude to is a Mr. Dehon, now residing at Cambridge, of irreproachable morals, pleasing manners, a good reader and an animated and an in- teresting preacher. To these qualities he joins a larger share of ancient and modern literature than is commonly met with in so young a student. He can be powerfully recommended by Dr. Parker, and other respectable characters. Nothing will afford me more pleasure to see your Church flourishing in all its former splendor ; and I know no one more able to effectuate this most desirable event than this young gentleman.
I am, gentlemen, with every sentiment of gratitude and esteem, &c.,
Your obliged humble servt,
The Church Wardens and Vestry
of Trinity Church, Newport.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
Voted and resolved : that Mr. Bours, with the Wardens, be a com- mittee to write to Mr. Theodore Dehon, at present residing in Cam- bridge, who has been warmly recommended as a young gentleman of learning, and of an irreproachable character, and who is a candi- date for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church, and invite him to come to Newport and officiate a few Sundays for us, that we may have an opportunity of hearing him, and if agreeable to both him and the congregation, to make proposals for a settlement.
Voted : that the thanks of the congregation [be extended] to the Rev. Mr. Moscrop, for his kindly officiating for us, a number of Sundays past, in our destitute state, and that the Wardens present him on the morrow with a copy of this vote.
Meeting of the congregation, October 8th, 1797. Whereas Mr. Theodore Dehon, in consequence of an invitation given him by the committee appointed for that purpose, at a meeting of the congrega- tion, on Sunday, the 17th day of September last, hath come to New- port and inform him that it is the unanimous will of the congrega- tion, that he would enter into Holy Orders as soon as may be, and become our Rector ; that he be allowed and paid, as a salary, at the rate of $500 per annum, in quarterly payments, to commence at the time of his leaving the Church at Cambridge, and that he have and receive all the perquisites to which our former Rectors were entitled, together with the use and improvement of the parsonage-house and lot, and that the committee assure him the congregation will afford every assistance in their power towards his speedily obtaining Deacon's and Priest's Orders, and that Mr. Dehon be requested to give an answer to these proposals.
September 24, 1797. Daniel Mason222 died and was buried in the church-yard.
222 Dan Mason
second son of the late Benj. Mason and Mary (Ayrault) his wife, was born at New-
port, in 1755. He was a merchant, at one time engaged in business with
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
Meeting of the congregation, October 29th, 1797. A letter from Mr. Theodore Dehon, of the 21st, wherein he declines accepting the proposals made to him by the congregation, on Sunday, the 8th inst., being laid before them by the committee appointed to deliver the same, it is therefore voted and resolved : that Mr. Dehon be again appealed to, and that Messrs. Brinley, Champlin, Gibbs, and Bours be a committee for that purpose, and that two hundred dol- lars more be added to the five hundred voted him as a salary, pro- vided that be thought by him a support adequate to induce him to accept the rectorship of our Church.
Meeting of the congregation, November 19, 1797.
In confirmation and addition to a vote passed on the 29th day of October last, it is voted and resolved unanimously : that a vote passed by the congregation on the 8th day of October last, inviting Mr. Theodore Dehon to enter into Holy Orders, and to take upon him the rectorship of our Church, and offering to pay him a salary of $500, be reconsidered; and that we will allow and pay him as a salary, at the rate of $700 per annum, in quarterly payments, to commence on his taking charge of the Church, together with the use and improvement of the parsonage-house and lot, and all the other perquisites to which our former Rectors were entitled; and that the Wardens, with Mr. Bours, be continued a committee to in- form Mr. Dehon immediately of these proceedings, by enclosing him a copy of this vote, and requesting from him an answer as soon as may be.
The aforegoing vote having been communicated by the committee to Mr. Dehon, the following letter was received from him in answer thereto :
Col. Francis Malbone, and died a bachelor. His remains were borne to the grave in Trinity Church-yard, by the Artillery Company and the Marine Society, of both of which organizations he was a member.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
To the Congregation of Trinity Church at Newport.
Gentlemen :
The convincing proof of your anxiety for my settlement among you as your Rector, exhibited in your renewed application, flatters and affects me. When I answered your former proposals, the pre- dominant objection against a compliance with your wishes was the want of a stipend adequate to the situation. But for this, I should have been influenced by your unanimity, and felt it my duty to com- ply with your request. This objection being silenced by your sec- ond resolve, and the same unanimity of proceeding having continued, I feel it an obligation to accept, with cheerfulness, the Rectorship of your Church; relying for assistance upon that Being who alone. is capable of blessing men with endowments equal to the offices which they are called to sustain. I promise on my part to discharge the several duties of that office, which I now accept, as far as I am able, and so long as the providence of God shall see fit to continue me in the same.
It will doubtless, gentlemen, be most agreeable to you, and it will be most convenient for me, that I receive Holy Orders before I meet you at Newport. As a presentation from you will be expected by the Bishop, it is necessary that it should be forwarded by the earliest opportunity ; I shall endeavor to be with you immediately after Orders shall have been obtained, and devoutly wish that we may then commence a long series of years of mutual satisfaction, comfort and joy.
Theodore Dehon.
Cambridge, November 29, 1797.
January II, 1798. Voted and resolved, unanimously, that Mr. Bours, with the Wardens, wait upon our Rector, the Rev. Mr. De- hon, and assure him that we, as well as the congregation at large, were greatly gratified by his excellent, well adapted discourse de-
217
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
livered on Sunday morning last, upon commencing the duties of his ministry, and request the favor of a copy thereof for the press.222a
January 16, 1798. Voted and resolved unanimously, that the Rector, Clerk and Wardens be a committee to present to the Revª Doct" Parker, of Trinity Church, Boston, a tribute of thanks for his exertions and kind wishes in behalf of our Church, and to request of him a copy of the sermon delivered at the ordination of our Rector, for the press.
Voted : that Mr. Brinley, Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Wickham be a com- mittee to make all necessary examination, and report the most eligible place and method for erecting a vestry-room.
Voted : that Mr. Wickham, Mr. Malbone, Mr. Auchmuty, Major Handy and Mr. Bours be a standing committee to transact the busi- ness of the Church, and report their doings, from time to time, to the Rector, Wardens and Vestry.
Easter Monday, April 9, 1798. William Crooke and William R .. Robinson elected Wardens.
The Vestry and other officers of the Church remain the same as last year.
Voted : that a vestry-room223 be immediately built at the north- east corner of the Church, on the outside, and that Messrs. Brinley, Gibbs and Wickham be a committee to have the same done, and that the expense be paid by subscription, provided the money can be raised that way; if not, that the Wardens and Vestry be authorized to dispose of one or more of the pews which have reverted to the Church, in order to obtain the money.
The letter from Rev. James Honyman, under date of December
222a There is no evidence that this request was complied with.
223 This is the present vestry-room. When first built, and for more than forty years, it was without a door from the street, and was only reached through the Church.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
6, 1725, on page 40, had been lost ; it was found by Mr. Christopher Champlin, presented to the Vestry April 9, 1798 ; whereupon it was voted : that the thanks of the congregation be presented to Mr. Champlin for his kind attention to the interest of the Church in pro- curing and preserving so essential a document as the afore recorded certificate, and also to Mr. Andrew Freebody for his "Book of Musick," for the use of the organist of the Church, this day pre- sented.
Voted : that the tax on all the pews below be ten dollars, except the double pews, which are to be twenty dollars, and those one and a half pews, fifteen dollars, and the gallery pews four dollars, for the ensuing year.
Voted : that the house and lot of land bequeathed by William Tate, late of Newport, in his last will and testament, to and for the use of the poor of our Church, be, in future, under the immediate care and direction of the Wardens, and that the annual rent thereof be received by them and paid over to the Rector, first deducting all necessary repairs, and by him distributed among the most neces- sitous and deserving poor of the Church at his own discretion; it being of the opinion of the Vestry that the rents hitherto received amount to the sums expended by the Church, from time to time, in repairs on the same.
Meeting of the congregation, July 9, 1798. Voted: that the con- stitution of the churches in this State, transmitted to this Church by order of the convention224 for adoption, be adopted, on condition
224 At the Annual Convention of the Church, held that year in Trinity Church, July 11th, Rt. Rev. Bishop of Massachusetts, was elected Edward Bufs. Bishop of Rhode Island. He was born at Dorchester, Mass., November 23, 1726. He graduated at Har- vard, was ordained in London by Rt. Rev. Bishop Sherlock, Bishop of
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
that the convention accede to the amendments proposed in the re- turned draft, viz., the alteration of the third article, the erasure of the eleventh and thirteenth, and the alteration of the twelfth article.
Voted : that Messrs. Francis Brinley, Christopher Champlin and George Gibbs be added to Messrs. Bours, J. Handy and Robert N. Auchmuty as delegates to represent this Church in the State Con- vention, to be held at Newport on Wednesday, the IIth instant.
Voted : that the Wardens and Vestry dispose of one or more of the pews below, which have been forfeited to the Church, at their discretion, in order to defray the expense of new doors, and vene- tian blinds to the large window in the chancel, and that in the vestry- room, and make any necessary repairs in the Church.
Pew No. 82, late James Clarke's, appearing clearly to have re- verted to the Church, was sold to Jacob Smith for the sum of $80, and the same appropriated towards building the vestry-room.
Pew No: 70, lately improved by Thomas Rogers, was sold to Samuel Lawton for $60, and the money appropriated to pay for the new doors and venetian blinds.
N. B. Pew No. 56, late Thomas T. Taylor, was sold by Nichª G. Tillinghast, executor, to Robert N. Auchmuty, with the approbation of the Wardens.
At a meeting of the Rector, Wardens and Vestry, February 5, 1799. Whereas, it appears from the report of the School Commit- tee that they have received the rents of the Kay estate leased to Richard Harrison, as they have become due, agreeably to the lease, and that the sum which will become due on the 25th day of Sep- tember next being added thereto, there will be a sufficient sum to
London, and on his return to America was elected Rector of St. Paul's, Newburyport, where he resided during the rest of his days. He was con- secrated by Bishop White in Philadelphia, May 7, 1797.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
build a school-house, voted and resolved : that a school-house be built as soon as may be on the lot where the old school-house stood, and that Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Bours and Mr. William R. Robinson be a committee to consult upon a plan to carry the same into effect, and this meeting to stand adjourned to Monday evening next, the IIth inst.
February 11, 1799. Voted and resolved : that a school-house be built on the lot where the old house stood ; that it be forty feet long and twenty-five feet wide ; a tower of eight feet square, rising out of the body of the building, at the east end, eight feet above the roof ; that there be a cellar under the whole; that a chimney be built at the west end, in the centre; that there be two arched windows at the west end, of 24 squares of 7 x 9 glass, exclusive of the arch, and three such windows on each side, and that the whole be finished in a plain, neat manner, agreeably to said plan offered by the com- mittee.224a
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