USA > Rhode Island > Newport County > Newport > Annals of Trinity church, Newport, Rhode Island, 1821-1892 > Part 24
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September 1, 1830. The Committee reported that they had received the sum of $1200, above referred to, with a surrender of the lease, and that they had given a full release to the estate of Richard Harrison.
The Committee were instructed to pay over to the Treasurer the money in their hands.
October 5, 1830. Nathaniel Amory made application for the Kay estate, and the Vestry offered to sell it to him, at the rate of $300 per acre.
July 12, 1832. A Committee was appointed to confer with any applicant for the Kay Estate, and report to the Vestry; and the following January the Committee was authorized to lease the estate for $3500.
April 3, 1833. The estate was leased for the above-named
326
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
sum to George Engs, he giving his note, payable in six months with interest, endorsed by Edward W. Lawton.
April 13, 1835. The Vestry were informed that George Engs wished to pay off his note, and the Treasurer was authorized to receive the money, and pay over to the Senior Warden "so much as will pay off the debts against the Church, and invest the balance."
Mr. Engs paid, April 14, $2300.65, and May 8th, $235, mak- ing in all $2635.65. The same day the Senior Warden paid a note at Rhode Island Union Bank, $1530.00
One at Bank of Rhode Island,
412.73
1
One at the Merchants Bank, 250.00
And to Rev. Mr. Wheaton, 200.00
$2392.73
Leaving in the hands of the Warden $242.92.
May 5th. The Warden was instructed to pay out of the funds of the Church, for the iron railing to the Frank street steps, and the balance due for the blinds, in compliance with a vote of the Corporation.
July 5, 1835, there was no money in the Treasury and the Senior Warden was directed to hire a sufficient sum to pay the salaries then due.
May 8, 1838. The Treasurer was instructed to call on George Engs for the interest, and $50 of the principal of his note.
September 3, 1839. The Committee appointed to sell the Sexton's house and the parsonage, reported a sale, and it was voted that the Treasurer collect from George Engs the money due from him to the Church, and with this amount, and the proceeds of the sale of the parsonage ( except money secured on the latter by mortgage ) he was to pay the debts of the Corpo- ration.
Money received at this time from George Engs, $739.00 475.00
Part payment on parsonage, ,
$1214.00
September 6, 1839. Paid Savings Bank, $254.16 September 13, paid R. I. Union Bank, 900.00 $1154.16
Balance in the hands of the Treasurer,
-
$59.84
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. 327
At a meeting of the Vestry, April 17, 1840, a schedule, giv- ing the items of property held by the Church, was presented by a Committee appointed for that purpose; by which it appears that the Corporation was indebted to the Poor Fund to the amount of $800.
August 5, 1840. It was voted to transfer ( as had been rec- ommended by the Corporation ) to the Poor Fund, eight shares in R. I. Union Bank, standing in the name of the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church.
April 14, 1849. It was "Voted: that immediate measures be taken to restore the Kay Fund; that the Church Fund be considered a portion of the Kay Fund, and that eight shares of the stock of the R. I. Union Bank, transferred in 1840 to the Poor Fund, be restored to the Kay Fund; and that the whole be placed in the hands of the Wardens and Vestry, as intended by the will of Nathaniel Kay."
"Voted: that the Vestry be requested to collect all the docu- ments relating to the Kay Fund, and to the leases of lots of land, and that they be recorded in a book devoted to that pur- pose." 4 8
November 1, 1842. At the request of the Rector, Rev. Fran- cis Vinton, and others, permission was granted by the Vestry to have the school house again opened as a day school, to be under the direction of the Rector.
June 2, 1845. By a vote of the Vestry, the bell in the school house was "given to the Church in Middletown" [Church of the Holy Cross]; at the same time permission was given to alter the school house, to adapt it to the wants of the Sunday School; the Sunday School to be at the cost of said change.
April 8, 1847. . The Vestry declined granting further permis- sion to use the school house for a day school, and various ap- plications for it, for a singing school, in subsequent years, were declined.
From the foregoing it will be seen that the school established
48 NO SUCH COLLECTION was made, and no further attention was paid to the gathering of facts connected with the Kay Fund till 1867, when a report was made, which will be found in place.
328
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
on the Kay foundation was never in a healthy condition. It was opened by a layman, and the majority of those who have been at its head were not ordained Clergymen-in some instances, not even Churchmen. The efforts to carry out the bequest were always spasmodic, and during the 136 years that have elapsed since the date of the bequest, the whole number of clergymen at its head does not exceed six -one for a period of about four years, and the others for a less term. Two of them for less than a year.
The building originally used for a school house was destroyed after 1776, probably during the war, and the new building was erected in 1800, and paid for out of rents from Kay property and donations.
It is further shown by this report, that the proceeds from Kay property, realized from leases and actual sales, were long since expended; not a dollar of the fund, or of any money real- ized from sales of the property, was left in the Treasury in 1840. It had all been absorbed, and with it $800 of the Poor Fund. In that year the Vestry made good the Poor Fund, by taking bank stock standing in the name of the Church and transferring it to the Poor Fund. But at the meeting of the Corporation, April 14, 1849, the sum of $800 was again taken from the Poor Fund and made the basis of what was then called the Kay Fund. And this is the way in which the finances of the Church have been managed. The amount that then stood to the credit of the Kay Fund was no more a part of the Kay Fund, or of any pro- ceeds from the Kay bequest, than any other property in the hands of the Corporation; and even if it had been so, the Ves- try, in 1868, would have felt justified, in the opinion of your Committee, in appropriating it to the erection of a building for the instruction of the youths of the Church. Regretting the mistakes of their predecessors, and recognizing what was due to the memory of Mr. Kay, they voted to build a substantial struct- ure, identified with his name, and set apart-not for the in- struction of ten poor boys, but to improve and benefit hundreds of children, who are now weekly taught under its roof their cat- echism, and how to become good Churchmen and worthy mem- bers of society; thus carrying out the wishes of Mr. Kay in the
329
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
spirit, if not to the letter, of his bequest, and adding greatly to the influence, usefulness and spiritual growth of the Church.
The following was added to the report by request of the Vestry.
At the annual meeting of the Corporation, Easter Monday, April 22, 1867, the importance of having enlarged accommoda- tions for the Parish Sunday School, was brought up, and the whole subject was referred to the Vestry. At a meeting of the Vestry, July 26, a Committee was appointed to report on the expediency of building a new school house, which report was read at a meeting held on the 19th of the following August, when it was shown that the old site was not large enough for the erec- tion of a suitable building, and the Committee suggested the purchase of the lot on the corner of Church and High streets, the property of the Moravian Society; which report was favor- ably received, and the Committee were instructed to purchase the said lot, and to procure suitable plans for building.
The Committee applied to George C. Mason, architect, who offered to give his professional services to the Church, and was accordingly instructed to prepare plans for a stone building; the Vestry having voted to use that material for building.
At a meeting of the Vestry, October 11, 1867, it was voted to call the new structure the Kay School House, and at the same meeting a building committee, consisting of the Rector, Edward King and J. H. Cozzens, was appointed.
February 24, 1868, the Building Committee reported that the expense of a stone structure was not warranted by the funds at their disposal, and it was accordingly voted to build of wood, and new plans were called for. The Committee was also instructed to sell the building then on the Moravian lot, to be removed at once.
It having been shown at a meeting of the Vestry, April 8th, that a brick building could be put up at a reasonable outlay, it was voted to build of brick, and the architect was instructed to prepare new plans, and for a larger edifice than was at first proposed; Benjamin Finch, Esq., having given a strip of land adjoining the Moravian lot on the North, to allow of extending the building in that direction.
330
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
May 27, 1868, the Building Committee were instructed to proceed with the plans, which met with the approval of the Vestry; and at a subsequent meeting, June 30, the Wardens were authorized to sell the old school house and lot, for $2000, possession to be given on the completion of the Kay School House; which property the Committee sold to the Shiloh Bap- tist Society.
March 31, 1869, the Vestry voted to have placed in Kay Chapel an appropriate tablet, to the memory of the late Nathan- iel Kay, whose revered name had been given to the edifice.
At the Annual Meeting, April 18, 1870, the Treasurer re- ported the whole outlay of the Committee, including the pur- chase of the land, the furniture, grading, insurance, &c., was $20,410.21; all of which had been paid, with the exception of a balance of $3591.71.
The structure was built of the best materials, put together in the most thorough and workmanlike manner. The exterior walls are of Danvers pressed brick, with brown stone trimmings, backed up with good, hard burnt brick. There is a deep cellar under the whole structure, with a concrete bottom, and all the water from the roof is taken to the well on the premises. The floor beams are of chestnut, the floor is double, the upper floor being of yellow pine; the roof is sustained by heavy timber tresses, thoroughly bolted together, and the covering is of best Maine slates. There is a good furnace in the cellar, the win- dows are of stained glass, the seats and other furniture are sub- stantially made and the chancel and aisles are neatly carpeted. GEORGE C. MASON,
JAMES BIRCKHEAD, of the Committee.
[ MINORITY REPORT. ]
To the Vestry of Trinity Church, Newport:
The subscriber, one of the Committee to collect informa- tion in relation to the Kay Fund, and its administration, begs leave to make the following report:
The object of the Committee's appointment was not merely to ascertain historical facts, but practical facts, as the basis for
33I
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
the future action of the Vestry: such as, Was there a Trust? What is the nature of the Trust? Does the Trust exist now? and do any obligations rest upon the Vestry at the present time, in regard to its administration?
To ascertain all the facts in relation to the Kay Fund, the Church Records, from 1734 to 1850, have been thoroughly ex- amined. Every paragraph found on the Church books, relating to the administration of this trust by the Vestry and Congrega- tion, has been either copied in full, or the exact meaning given in an abridged form. As the will of Mr. Kay was not entered upon the Church Records at the time of Mr. Kay's death, in 1734, and as the Probate Record of his will was in a dilapidated condition, the Committee have been so fortunate as to obtain from Rev. Henry B. Sherman extracts from Mr. Kay's will, found in Volume 9 of the Proceedings of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts; which leave no doubt of the intention of Mr. Kay, and of the fact of a special and perpetual Trust, committed by him into the hands of the Vestry of Trinity Church.
From an examination of this transcript from the Church Records, and from those of the aforesaid Society, in the opinion of the subscriber the following conclusion may justly be drawn:
Ist. That Nathaniel Kay, Esq., by his will, proved before the Probate Court of Newport, and recorded in their books, April 25, 1734, which record is corroborated by extracts from the' books of the Society of Foreign Parts, Volume 9, page 54, bequeathed and devised to the Minister, the Church Wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church, certain property in Rhode Island, and £400 in currency, to build a School House, and to the in- tent and purpose, and benefit, and use of the school, to teach ten poor boys their grammar and mathematics, gratis; and to appoint a master at all times, as occasion or vacancy may hap- pen, who shall be Episcopally ordained, and assist the Minister Episcopal of the town of Newport, in some proper office.
2d. That from the time of said bequest, the Minister, Ves- try and Corporation of Trinity Church, continued down to a late period, to manage said property, so devised, and to apply the income derived from it to carry out the design and purpose of
332
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
said bequest, so far as the funds realized, or the circumstances of the Church condition, allowed.
3d. That there has remained in the hands of the Vestry and Corporation of Trinity Church, since or after the year 1830, a sum of money derived from the estate of Nathaniel Kay, so de- vised, exceeding the amount of $3000; no part of which sum, or the interest thereon, has been applied by said Vestry and Corporation to the use of the school.
4th. That the intention of Trinity Church Corporation to recognize the bequest of Mr. Kay, and to devote the proceeds realized from it, to carry out the design of the testator when practicable, is manifested by their vote of April 14, 1849, re- storing and establishing the Kay Fund as a separate fund, and appropriating certain property to constitute a portion of it.
In view, then, of what there appears to be clearly in evi- dence, the subscriber is of the opinion, and earnestly recom- mends, that the Vestry and Corporation should maintain the fund, as a separate fund, to accumulate, until it shall amount to a sum sufficient, by the application of its annual income, to realize the purpose of the testator in a practical and appropriate way.
To assure such accumulation, the annual interest should be strictly applied to the increase, whether the principal of the fund be borrowed by the Vestry and Corporation, or loaned to other parties.
Should it appear that the school house and lot on which it stands was a part of the Kay property, or, obtained by the ex- penditure of its funds, as the subscriber believes, the proceeds of the sale thereof, recently made, viz., two thousand dollars, should be applied to, and constitute a part of, the Kay Fund.
All of which is respectfully submitted by
DAVID KING.
The following resolution was offered by S. Engs:
It having been shown by the report just read that not only the revenue derived from the Kay Fund has been expended, but that the whole of the original bequest has been absorbed to meet the demands on the Treasury in times past, and
333
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
Whereas, this Vestry, in a commendable spirit, has erected and set apart, for the instruction of hundreds of children, a sub- stantial brick structure, called Kay School House, to commem- orate the liberality of the late Nathaniel Kay, thus carrying out, so far as they can now be carried out, the wishes of the testa- tor, for the moral and religious improvements of youths, and
Whereas, the fund, now known as the Kay Fund, was so constituted in 1849, out of the funds of this Parish; and, where- as, the fence around the Church grounds, where repose the re- mains of Mr. Kay and of many others, who in their day and generation were devoted to the best interests of the Church, is now rapidly falling to decay, and has already become unseemly, therefore :
Voted: that the Treasurer be, and he is hereby, instructed to set apart, as "The Church Yard Fence Fund," the accrued in- terest on the so-called Kay Fund, and that from and after this date the interest that may accrue on the said Kay Fund be added to the Fence Fund, till a sufficient sum be raised for the erection of a substantial and appropriate fence around the Church grounds.
Voted: that a Committee of three, to be named by the Chair, be appointed to solicit subscriptions to the Fund, and that the Rector be requested to take up a collection for this object dur- ing the approaching summer.
Voted: that the Fence Fund be deposited in the Savings Bank.
Shall the resolution be accepted ?
On motion of William E. Dennis the House was called, and with the following result:
Ayes: George C. Mason, Samuel Engs, Marshall C. Slocum, Benjamin Finch, William Cornell, John H. Cozzens, William E. Dennis, Thomas R. Hunter, Charles Hunter; 9.
Noes: Job T. Langley, William G. Seabury; 2.
334
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
The Chairman appointed the following committee: Thomas R. Hunter, Charles Hunter, George W. Gibbs, George C. Mason.
Voted: that the communication of Dr. King be placed on file.
The Wardens were authorized to paint the Church, and to place a flag-stone walk in front of Kay Chapel.
July 6, 1870. Voted: that the plan and estimate for an iron fence around the yard of the Church, be referred to the com- mittee appointed to solicit subscriptions, with power to carry them out as soon as they think that the subscriptions and the funds appropriated by the Church will warrant such a step.
August 31, 1870. Voted: that the Treasurer be authorized to sell pews Nos. 6 and 7 in the north gallery, at the present valuation, subject to the following conditions,-that said pews shall not be rented, nor shall they be sold at any time without first giving the option to the Church to take them at their pres- ent valuation. The option to purchase to be given to the present occupants before offering them to other parties.
September 6, 1870. Voted: that Benjamin Finch be a com- mittee to treat with the agent of George Crandall for his interest in the Crandall estate, with full power.
Voted: that Benjamin Finch be authorized to confer with the Messrs. Lawrence, and guarantee that on the receipt of their contribution of $500, the Vestry will immediately have the pro- posed iron fence placed on Spring and Church streets.
September 16, 1870. Voted: that the plan and proposition of the Composite Iron Works, to furnish the iron fence, gates, &c., for the sum of $1000, be accepted; and the Wardens were instructed to have the fence set upon granite blocks.
January 4, 1871. The Committee on Iron Fence reported as follows: that they had had the fence put up, as ordered by the Vestry, excepting the granite base, which was impracticable.
335
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
Contract for fence,
$1000.00
Freight and carting,
33.73
John Moffatt, granite work, 292.50
B. M. Anthony, gravel, 52.00
George Popple, labor, 225.87
Irish & Wilson, 660.51
McAdam & Openshaw,
9.61
$2274.22
(Original estimate for fence, $1860.00.)
Actual cost,
$1870.00
New sidewalk, 394.60 $2264.60
April 10, 1871. Annual Meeting of the Corporation; 17 cor-
porators present. George C. Mason was chosen chairman.
The following officers were elected :
George C. Mason, Senior Warden.
Samuel Engs, Junior Warden.
Marshall C. Slocum, Benjamin Finch, Job T. Langley, Wil- liam Cornell, John H. Cozzens, William G. Seabury, William E. Dennis, Charles Hunter, George W. Gibbs, Thomas R. Hunter, Samuel W. Francis, 481/2 Vestrymen.
481/2 DR. SAMUEL W. FRANCIS was the fourth son of the late John W. Francis, of New York. He was born in New York, December 26, 1835, graduated at Columbia College in 1857, and on completing his medical course at the New York Medical College, in 1860, entered upon the practice of his profession in that city. From there he removed to Newport, where he continued to practice up to the time of his last illness. He died March 25, 1886.
Dr. Francis was well read in his profession. He was a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, a member of the Victoria Institute of Great Britain, and Vice President of the Newport Medical Society. He was not only skilled as a physician, but had also a mechanical turn. The credit of being the inventor of the type-writer has been properly given to him, and many labor-saving devices now in common use, owe their origin to his inventive genius. Fond of Natural History, he was the founder of the Natural History Society of Newport. He published a number of works,
336
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
Job T. Langley, Secretary.
William Cornell, Treasurer.
George C. Mason, Samuel Engs, J. H. Cozzens, Marshall C. Slocum, Delegates to State Convention.
The following from the Treasurer was read:
The Treasurer respectfully reports, that the debt of the Cor- poration remains the same as at Easter last, excepting $591.71, returned to the Treasurer of the School House Committee, which had been overpaid by him to the Treasurer of the Corporation. If our appropriations during the ensuing year do not exceed the following estimate, a continuation of the same tax will reduce the debt to about $400.
Estimated expenses, $9779
Income, with cash on hand, 9369
Voted: that Pew No. 18, on the lower floor, be presented to Mrs. Dr. King and Miss Ann Wheaton, from the Corporation.
April 13, 1871. Voted: that on and after this date no bill or bills shall be paid or received by this Vestry, unless accom- panied by the original order in writing and endorsed as correct by the person or persons who gave the order.
Voted: that all such endorsements shall be written in ink, and to be made previous to the meeting at which said bills are presented.
The following letter was received and ordered to be recorded :
To the Wardens and Vestry of Trinity Church;
Gentlemen: We accept with thanks the pew in Trinity Church under the monument erected to our beloved Father. We shall hold and value it as a mark of respect and affection
and he might have been successful in the field of letters had he been dis- posed to enter it. Mrs. Francis, whose maiden name was Harriet H. Mc- Allister, daughter of the late Judge McAllister, died before him.
337
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
for his memory, from a people whom he loved well, and among whom he spent the best days of his holy and useful life. With respect, gentlemen, Truly yours, SARAH G. KING, ANN WHEATON.
Newport, May 30, 1871.
Voted: that the Senior Warden have a plat of the Church pews made, with the owner's name to each pew, and have the same properly framed and placed in the belfry of the Church.
December 1, 1871. Voted: that the Junior Warden address a letter to non-resident pew owners, advising them that on and after this date, unless otherwise instructed, the Vestry will take charge of their pews during their absence, and will credit to tax account any sums received for sittings in said pews.
338
ANNALS OF TRINITY CHURCH,
CHAPTER XII.
1872-1876.
April 1, 1872. Annual Meeting of the Corporation; 15 cor- porators being present. George C. Mason was chosen chairman.
No change was made in the election of officers.
The following was received from the Treasurer:
Easter Monday, 1872.
To the Corporation of Trinity Church:
The Treasurer respectfully reports that he has paid within the past year the note for $1500, dated November 26, 1870, re- ducing the debt of the Corporation to $1000, hired March 10, 1868, which can be paid within the ensuing year; and if our expenses do not much exceed the following estimate; we can at the same time reduce our taxes 3 per cent.
WILLIAM CORNELL, Treasurer.
The estimate covered an expenditure of $7236.
Voted: that the tax be at the rate of 20 per cent. on the valuation.
Voted: that the Rector's salary be at the rate of $3500 per year, from March 11th.
Voted: that $900 be appropriated for music.
October 2, 1872. The death of Rev. Francis Vinton, D. D., having been announced to the Vestry, the following vote was passed.
339
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.
Voted: The Vestry of Trinity Church, Newport, R. I., deeply sensible of the loss sustained by the Church at large in the death of Francis Vinton, D. D., desire hereby to express their deep regret thereat, recalling with grateful remembrance Dr. Vinton's active efforts for the welfare of this Parish while Rector thereof.
That the Wardens and Vestry attend the funeral services as a body.
That the Vestry respectfully tender to Dr. Vinton's widow and family their sincere sympathy in the affliction with which it has pleased Almighty God to visit them.
That this expression of sympathy be entered on the records of this Vestry, and that a copy of it be transmitted to the fam- ily of the deceased.
J. G. Spingler, sexton, tendered his resignation, which resig- nation was referred to a committee; Messrs. Finch and Cozzens. The following was read and received:
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