USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > Newport > Annals of Trinity church, Newport, Rhode Island, 1698-1821 > Part 20
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November 9, 1806. A tax of nine dollars was assessed on the pews on the lower floor, and one dollar on the gallery pews, agree- ably to a recommendation from the Rector, Wardens and Vestry on the 3ª inst., in order to make up the deficiency due for the repairs lately made on the Church edifice and appurtenances.
December 1, 1806. It was voted that Mr. Littlefield be requested
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
to employ Mr. Thomas Arnold to take charge of the Church clock, put her in order, and agree with him for a compensation to keep it so.
It was also voted that the Wardens be requested to have the stove put up in the Church, and that they procure, at the expense of the Church, whatever pipes were wanted, to be made of iron, and that they purchase sea coal sufficient to keep a fire during the winter.248
The Revª Mr. Dehon was requested, if he could conveniently do so, to go to New York, in order to solicit Bishop. Moore to take the churches within this State into his Diocese and charge; agree- ably to the unanimous desire of the late State Convention, held in Newport.
January 5, 1807. Francis Malbone and Peleg Wood were ap- pointed a committee to assist the Wardens in collecting the arrear- ages due to the Church.
February 2, 1807. It having been stated that the subscriptions for repairing the Church not having all been paid in, and the pews of delinquents not having been sold, as contemplated, it was voted: that Messrs. Crooke and Peleg Wood be a committee to loan at
248 The heating of the Church was a problem not easily solved ; there was no chimney, and the stoves, first but one, then, in the writer's day, two, were set up, and while they roasted those whose pews were near to them, the congregation in other parts of the Church were smarting with cold. At one time the stoves, two enormous ones, were placed in the middle aisle, and the pipes were led across the Church, right and left, and taken through the windows. The marks where the paint was blistered, both on the inside and outside of the pews nearest to the stoves, can easily be found by one who looks for them. Then the stoves, huge cast-iron box stoves, were placed at the four corners of the Church, and the pipes were gathered into one large vertical copper pipe, that passed up through the ceiling near the centre of the Church, and entered a small chimney built there for that purpose. All these were expedients, and finally the present arrangement, heating by furnaces, was adopted.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
one of the Banks in Newport, on account and in behalf of the con- gregation, as much money as will discharge the balance due from the Church to the Revd Mr. Dehon, to the first day of January, 1807, as soon as the amount thereof is ascertained; and that the Wardens regularly pay the discount on the same.
At the annual meeting, Easter Monday, March 30, 1807, the fol- lowing officers were elected :
William Littlefield and William Wood, Wardens.
Vestry : Francis Brinley, John Bours, Francis Malbone, Benjamin Gardiner, Henry Sherburne, William Crooke, William Littlefield, Robert N. Auchmuty, Saunders Malbone, Simeon Martin, William Wood, Peleg Wood, Edward Brinley, Jacob Smith and Stephen T. Northam.
John Bours, Clerk of the Vestry.
Joseph Dyer, Clerk of the Church.
Uriah Gorton, Sexton.
Messrs. Brinley, Bours, Auchmuty, Gardiner and Martin be con- tinued as delegates to the next convention, with the addition of William Crooke and Samuel Whitehorne.
The taxes were to be the same as during the past year ; and the Rector, Wardens and Vestry were again urged to "use their endeavors to obtain an organist."
The following report from a committee appointed by the Vestry was read to the Congregation, when it was unanimously adopted, and the Wardens were instructed to carry the same into effect as soon as may be; and if any legal advice was necessary, they were to apply to William Hunter and request his assistance.
Whereas, on an investigation of the accounts for the repairs of Trinity Church edifice, and its appurtenances, it is found there is still a large sum wanting to pay the demands against said Church, and the subscribers having been appointed a committee, at a meet- ing of the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of said Church, on Monday,
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
the 16th inst., to draft a plan to be laid before the Congregation for their approbation, on the ensuing Easter Monday, in order to carry into effect a law passed by the General Assembly of this State, at their Session, in June last, empowering the Corporation to dispose of any pews in said Church, which are indebted for the repairs thereof, do respectfully report, that it is expedient the Corporation should empower the Wardens, with the advice and consent of the Vestry, to dispose of such Pews as have become forfeited to the Church by the original regulations thereof; and any other pews, in conformity to the above-mentioned act of the General Assembly, and that the money arising from such sales be appropriated accord- ingly.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
It having been stated at a Vestry meeting June 1, 1807, that " a French gentleman, at Philadelphia," had offered to become the organist of the Church, " provided he could receive suitable encour- agement," it was voted that one hundred and four dollars per annum be offered him, with an assurance that the Vestry would do all in their power to secure pupils for him.
Delinquent taxpayers having been duly informed of the course the Vestry would pursue if any taxes remained longer unpaid, it was voted August 2Ist that the following pews on the lower floor be "advertised for sale in the next Newport Mercury, agreeably to the original regulations of the Congregation of the Church: Num- bers 9, 11, 19, 21, 26, 28, 32, 47, 49, 62, 63, 67, 76. Half pew of No. 80 and No. 92; and in conformity to an Act of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island, passed at the June Session, 1806: pews Nos. 23, 34, 39, 52, 55, 59, 64, 65, 68, 77, 91, 93, 95 and 96, for taxes due for repairs ; and that the said pews be sold at public auction on Wednesday, the 23d day of September next, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, at said Church."
The sale took place March 30, 1807, and the purchasers were :
No. 9. Peleg Wood, south half, $100.00 .
" " Edward Easton, north half, . . 80.00
" II. Robert Robinson, north half, 75.00 ·
" 19. Francis Brinley, . 55.00
" 21. Edmund T. Waring, 80.00
" 39. Samuel F. Gardner, 80.00
" 55. Robert N. Auchmuty, . · 65.00
" 59. John Boit, . 90.00
Nos. 4, 23, 26, 28, 32, 34, 47, 49, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 77, 88, 91, 92, 93, 95 and 96 were purchased by William Crooke, for the Church, at prices ranging from $20 to $50.
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
June 18, 1807. William Audinet249 was buried.
At a Vestry meeting, November 2, 1807. Upon motion made by Mr. Francis Malbone, and unanimously agreed to, that twelve cords of wood should be purchased and presented to the Revd Mr. De- hon, and Mr. Northam generously offered to advance the money to procure the same. It was also voted that Mr. Northam be re- quested to purchase twelve cords of good oak wood, and have the same carted, sawed and stowed at the parsonage, and that he be re- imbursed by the Wardens as soon as they are in cash on account of pews lately disposed of.
December 7, 1807. The Rector and Wardens were a committee to make enquiry of the Revª Mr. Ward respecting the state of the school, and make report at the next meeting of the Vestry.
A proposal being made that another stove should be procured and set up in the church, similar to the one already there, the same
249 " William Audinet was born at Periguex, France, and for many years was an inhabitant of the island of Guadaloupe. Compelled to fly on ac- count of the civil commotion there, he sought safety and protection in a land of liberty, and twelve years since came with his family to this town, where he has lived in such a manner as to acquire notice and respect from all who became acquainted with him. Abroad he always appeared polite, affable and pleasing in his manner. At home the pious and exemplary Christian, the kind and affectionate husband, and the most indulgent master ; beloved and revered alike by all, they mourn his exit with the sincerest emotions of unfailing grief. His remains, attended by many of the most respectable citizens, were decently interred on the Tuesday even- ing following. The funeral services were performed by the Rev. Mr. Ward, of the Episcopal Church."-Newport Mercury.
Madame Audinet soon after died, which event was thus noticed by the same paper :
On Sunday, October 18, 1807, Madame Mary Catharine Audinet, relict of Mr. William Audinet, whom she survived only four months, and near to whom her remains were placed. Rev. Mr. Matignon, Rector of the Roman Catholic Church in Boston, performed with affecting solemnity the burial service agreeably to the rites of that Church.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
was assented to and a subscription immediately opened to purchase a stove and the necessary pipe, and to pay the expense of erecting the same.
At a Vestry meeting, December 8, 1807, the following vote of the Town was ordered to be recorded.
"In Town Meeting, December 8, 1807. It is voted and resolved that the thanks of the Town be presented to the Society of the Episcopal Church for the use of their bell heretofore, and to request of them that it may be continued to be rung, as usual. It is also voted : that the sexton of the Church be the person to ring the said bell, and that he have fifty dollars per year. It is also voted that Mr. Robert Rogers be appointed to present the thanks of the town to the said Society for the use of their bell heretofore.
" Witness, JONATHAN ALMY, " Town Clerk."
March 7, 1808. The Revª Mr. Dehon having delivered to the Wardens one hundred dollars, the amount of two legacies bequeathed by Mrs. Judith Tillinghast250 and her sister, Miss Susan Ayrault, in their last will and testament, to the poor in Trinity Church in New- port, and having informed the Vestry of the opinion of Mrs. Mary Scott, the administratrix upon the estates of the donors, that their design would be most extensively and permanently accomplished by making the said donation a part of the poor fund : Voted, there- fore, that the same be added to the said fund for the use of the poor, and that Mr. Francis Brinley be requested to purchase with the money a share in the Rhode Island Union Bank.
250 Judith Tillinghast and Susanna Ayrault were sisters, and daughters of Daniel, son of Pierre Ayrault. Judith, born December 9, 1725, and died November 26, 1806, married Joseph Tillinghast. Susanna, born June 29, 1723, remained single and died a year after her sister, Mary Scott, the administratrix, was the daughter of Stephen Ayrault, son of Daniel, and the widow of George Scott, who died in 1798, and to whom she was married September 16, 1764.
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
At the meeting of the Congregation, Easter Monday, April 18, 1808 :
William Littlefield and Benjamin Mumford, Jr., were elected Wardens.
Vestry : Francis Brinley, John Bours, Francis Malbone, Benj. Gardiner, Henry Sherburne, William Crooke, Wm. Littlefield, Robt. N. Auchmuty, Benj. Mumford, Jr., in place of Saunders Malbone, resigned, Simeon Martin, John Wood, in place of his brother, Wil- liam Wood, deceased, Peleg Wood, Edward Brinley, Jacob Smith and Stephen T. Northam.
Clerk of the Vestry, John Bours; Clerk of the Church, Thomas H. Mumford, son of John Mumford ; and Uriah Gorton, Sexton.
The salary of the Clerk of the Church was raised to $50, but that of the sexton was continued at $30.
The tax remained the same.
The Wardens were enjoined to use their endeavors to obtain an organist.
Voted : that the thanks of the Congregation be presented to Miss Calhoun for her officiating on the organ to this time, and to request a continuance to gratify them, while agreeable and convenient to herself, and that the Clerk of the Vestry furnish her with a copy of this vote.
The thanks of the Congregation were also presented to Mr. Ed- ward Brinley, for kindly officiating as Warden, during the absence of Capt. Wm. Wood, and since his death.
[February 13, 1809. Mrs. Sarah Read, consort of Dr. William Read, of Charleston, S. C., suddenly died here. Her remains were taken to Trinity Church, where the burial service was read by Revd Mr. Dehon, after which they were deposited in the family vault of the late Governor Wanton, adjoining the Clifton ground.]
March 6th. Voted: that the lot purchased lately of Lawrence Clarke, and leased to him until the 25th inst., be again leased to him
1
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
for two years, by the Wardens, and at the same rent, he giving security for the payment of the same.
Benj. Gardiner was appointed to lease the Bliss lot for a term not exceeding three years, and that a refusal be given to James Mitchell, ,who had improved it for the past three years.
The Wardens were to have the clock repaired.
May I. Col. Sherburne and Mr. Crooke were a committee to wait upon Rev. Mr. Ward, and enquire of him whether Mr. Trevett had given him possession of the school-house, and whether it was in as good repair as when he entered it.
June 2, 1809. Benj. B. Mumford was appointed to act as Clerk of the Vestry during the absence of Mr. John Bours.
Francis Brinley, Benj. Gardiner, Simeon Martin, William Crooke and Benj. B. Mumford were appointed a committee to digest a plan for a raising a permanent fund for the Church, and to report at the next meeting.
A committee appointed to receive the books and papers belong- ing to the Church, and in the hands of Mr. Bours, reported August 7th that they had received from Mr. Bours " A chest containing two books of record, two books of account and divers files of papers ; also a mortgage deed of Wm. Howard's house and lot of land for one hundred and twelve dollars and sixty-three cents; a certificate for one share in the Rhode Island Union Bank, John Bours' note endorsed by Stephen T. Northam, payable at said bank in six months, for two hundred and fifty-three dollars and fifteen cents, and also the balance in his hands belonging to the Church Yard Fund, amounting to twenty-four dollars and thirty-two cents."
The plan for raising a Permanent Fund was received, and its fur- ther consideration was deferred to a subsequent meeting.
August 21, 1809. It was voted that a committee be appointed to report another plan for raising a permanent fund, to be laid before the congregation, and the Vestry was to meet the following Thurs-
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
day at Mr. Auchmuty's to receive the report. Messrs. Sherburne, Gardiner and Northam were that committee.
At a meeting of the Vestry August 24, 1809, the report of the committee for raising a permanent fund was received, when it was voted to call the congregation together on the following Sunday afternoon, to hear it read and take some action upon it. The fol- lowing was the report:
The Committee appointed by the Vestry of Trinity Church, on the 2Ist inst., to report a plan for raising a permanent fund for the better support of the Church, do respectfully offer the follow- ing, viz .:
That a subscription be opened under the direction of the congre- gation, for raising the sum of six thousand dollars, payable in one year by quarterly instalments of 25 per cent. after the aforesaid sum of six thousand dollars shall be subscribed.
That an annual contribution be solicited for raising such further sums as in addition to the sum subscribed for (with the interest that may arise thereon) will amount to ten thousand dollars, which con- tribution might perhaps be made in Church, by having a day, or part of a day, annually set apart for that purpose.
That all money raised by subscription, or donation, be put to in- terest, or vested in some subscription of permanent stock, under the direction of a committee to be appointed by the congregation for that purpose, and that none of the money raised as aforesaid, or the interest arising thereon, be appropriated or used for any other pur- pose whatever, until the same amount to the aforesaid sum of ten thousand dollars ; after which the annual profit of said fund shall be at the disposal of the Corporation of Trinity Church, and that the subscription shall not be obligatory on any person until the amount of six thousand dollars be subscribed.
Submitted by HENRY SHERBURNE, BENJ. GARDINER, S. T. NORTHAM, Committee.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
At a meeting of the Congregation at Trinity Church, Sunday, August 27, 1809,
Voted : that the report of the Committee for raising a permanent fund be accepted, and that the consideration thereof be for the present deferred."
At a Vestry meeting, October 19, 1809, Voted: that the thanks of this Vestry, on behalf of the Congregation, be made Miss Floride Calhoun, for her goodness in officiating on the organ, and that a silver cup, of the value of thirty dollars, be also presented her, as a token of their respect and esteem, with the following inscription engraved thereon :
"Presented on the 7th of November, 1809, by the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church, in Newport, Rhode Island, to Miss Floride Calhoun, of Charleston, South Carolina, as a testi- mony of their sense of the obliging manner and excellent skill with which she has performed on the organ of the Church, and a small token of their gratitude and respect."
The Wardens were instructed to procure such a cup, and present it to Miss Calhoun.
At a Vestry meeting, February 5, 1810,
Voted : that it is the opinion of this Vestry, that chanting be con- tinued in the Church, conformably with the rubric, until Easter Monday.
Voted : that the final discussion of altering the organ loft be de- ferred till Easter Monday ; but in the mean time the Chanters may, under the immediate directions of the Wardens, at their own ex- pense, make such internal alterations in the four pews (two on each side of the organ loft) as may suit their own convenience.
Voted: that the Vestry of Trinity Church thank the gentlemen and ladies for their performance in chanting the service on Christmas days, and request a continuance thereof; and that a copy of this vote be presented by the Clerk of the Vestry.
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
CHAPTER XVIII.
1810-18II.
[AT this time, February, 1810, the Rector, Revª Theodore Dehon, D.D., received a call to the rectorship of St. Michael's Church, Charleston, S. C., and from that city he addressed the following letter to the Wardens, Vestry and Congregation of the Church :]
Charleston, 21 Feb., 1810.
Gentlemen :
When I received an invitation to the Rectorship of St. Michael's Church in this city, I thought it a duty to visit this place before I came to a decision, in order that I might be more fully satisfied of the course which I ought to pursue. I have found here a climate in which my health has been better than at any other time in the last fifteen years of my life, a very numerous Church, among whom it would seem I may minister in sacred things without any diminu- tion of my usefulness, and a body of clergy of our own denomina- tion, such as I have long wished to be associated with. The provision proposed to be made for my maintenance is ample; and the building in which I am to officiate not disproportioned to my strength. These considerations, combined with others which I need not now mention, presented a body of inducements to a removal which my friends here thought I ought not to resist. But their force has been strengthened in a manner which leaves me unable any longer to doubt which is the path, that a regard to my health and my usefulness in the Church of the Redeemer should lead me to pursue, by an unanimous con- sent of the Vestry, that I may reserve to myself the privilege of being absent during the summer months, as long as it shall be neces- sary to my safety.
On this condition, without which I had made up my mind to re- turn to the care of my beloved flock in Newport, I have felt it my
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
duty to accept the invitation given me ; and, consequently, to resign the Rectorship of your Church. This resignation, Gentlemen, I hope will be received by you with an assurance that it is not made with any diminution of my regard for your long respected Society, and that it is the result of much serious, prayerful and anxious de- liberation. It would have comported more with my own feelings, not to have made it till after my return to the northward ; but I have deemed it due to you, as well as coincident with wishes, expressed, when I was about to leave Newport, to make this early communica- tion, in order that any opportunity which may occur of providing your Church with another Rector, need not pass away unimproved. Should you, however, desire it, this arrangement need not go into full separation until the autumn of the year. I shall return to New- port (God willing) in the Spring, and if it will in any way be pro- motive of the welfare, or convenience, of the Church, my services shall be cheerfully given during the summer to the flock among whom I have so happily lived and labored, and whom I shall leave with emotions which can only be known by him who feels them.
I am, Gentlemen, with the highest sentiments of esteem and regard,
Your Humble and obedient servant,
THEODORE DEHON.251
The Wardens, Vestry and Congregation of Trinity Church.
251 Right Reverend Bishop Dehon was born in Boston, in 1776, gradu- ated at Harvard in 1795, was called to Trinity Church in 1798, removed to Charleston, S. C., in 1810, where he became Rector of St. Michael's, and was made Bishop of South Carolina in 1812. He died in 1817.
Two volumes of his sermons were published in 1821. They were much read, both in this country and in England. An edition was published in London, in 1823, and a new edition in New York, 1859.
A number of his sermons were also published in pamphlet form. One on the death of General Washington, 1800; one on the death of George Gibbs, 1803; a discourse delivered in Providence before the Female Charitable Society of that city, 1804; and a Thanksgiving Sermon in Newport, 1806.
Bishop Dehon was married to Sarah Russell, daughter of Jonathan Rus-
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NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
At the Annual Meeting, Easter Monday, April 23, 1810, the fol- lowing officers were elected :
Samuel Whitehouse,
Senior Warden.
Edward Easton,
Junior Warden.
Vestry :
Francis Brinley,
Benj. B. Mumford,
John Bours,
Simeon Martin,
Saunders Malbone,
John P. Mann,
Benj. Gardiner,
John Wood,
Henry Sherburne,
Edward Brinley,
Wm. Crooke,
Samuel Whitehorne,
Wm. Littlefield,
Steph. T. Northam,
Rob. N. Auchmuty,
Edward Eaton,
John L. Boss, Senior.
Benj. B. Mumford, Clerk of Vestry.
Uriah Gorton, Sexton.
Delegates to the State Convention : Messrs. Brinley, Bours, Auchmuty, Gardiner, Martin, Crooke and Whitehorne.
No change was made in the tax.
Voted : that Benjamin Gardiner and Simeon Martin, Esquires, be, and they are hereby appointed and empowered, jointly and sev- erally, as delegates from this Church, to meet at Trinity Church in Boston "on the Tuesday preceding the last Wednesday in May next," then and there to vote for a Bishop to preside over this con- gregation, and to transact such other business as may come before them touching the interest of the Church, and that their expenses be paid by the Church.
sell, of Charleston, October 26, 1813. Mr. Russell was of Rhode Island origin. At one time he was Collector of the Port of Bristol, and at another time Minister from the United States to Sweden.
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ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
Voted : that the organ-loft be altered and enlarged, to accom- modate the singers and chanters of sacred music.
[The convention met in Boston, in June, and unanimously elected Revª Alexander Viets Griswold,252 Bishop of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.]
June 4, 1810, the Wardens, Messrs. Whitehorne, and Col. Sher- burne, were appointed to present the name of some suitable person to be settled over the Church as minister.
[The annual meeting of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, in Rhode Island, was held at the State House in Newport, on St. John's day, June 25, 1810. After the installation, the mem- bers of the Order marched in procession, with music, to Trinity Church, where a discourse was delivered by the newly elected Bishop of the Diocese.]
July 2ª the following action was taken in regard to the resigna- tion of Revd Mr. Dehon :
Whereas, the Revª Theodore Dehon did, by his letter of February last, to the Wardens, Vestry and congregation of said Church, communicate his resignation of the Rectorship thereof, with a tender of his service 'till the ensuing autumn, to which letter no answer hath been given, it is therefore voted unanimously that Francis Brinley, Benjamin Gardiner, and Wm Crooke, Esquires, together with the Wardens, be a committee to wait on him, to congratulate
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