USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Narragansett > Old St Paul's in Narragansett > Part 3
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On September 27, 1869, a committee was appointed to see
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about building a wall around the so-called MacSparran Burying Ground.
In August 1870, the vestry authorized Dr. Goodwin to raise funds for the preservation of the Old Church. This movement for the care of the Old Church continued and in January 1875, a committee was authorized to sell the old lumber that was stored in the Church. About this time the Parish Guild became interested in the Old Church and in June 1876 they were per- mitted to clean up the old Church and to store in the gallery such things as encumber the aisles. On August 7 a committee of six were appointed from the Guild to direct the removal of rubbish from the Old Church and prepare it for a Memorial Service. On the following week a committee was appointed to arrange for a memorial service. On September 4, 1876 the thanks of the Guild was extended to the Committee for the efficient manner in which they arranged for the services and for the entertainment of the strangers present.
On May 7, 1877, a committee of three were appointed by the Guild to cooperate with the Rector in arranging for services to be held in the Old Church during the summer.
Thus began the custom of holding services in the Old Church on summer afternoons. While there are no records to prove that the August services have been held regularly since that time, we understand that Vesper services have been held on Sundays at 5:00 P.M. during each August since the begin- ning in August of 1877.
Other services have also been held there from time to time. The next time that the Guild records show the appointment of a committee to arrange for services was in 1885 when they de- cided to hold a Memorial Service to raise money for the repair of the Old Church estimated to cost $125.00. The Guild as- sumed the responsibility for the repairs and the collections were to be set aside for the Old Church Funds. The Memorial Service was to be held at 4:00 P.M. on July 29th and the regular August services at 5:00 P.M. The repairs consisted of putting in new windows and covering them with screens instead of boarding them up as heretofore so that the building would be in condition for services at any time.
In 1886, six services were held beginning July 25. Car-
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IX
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Thott that not hat fable winds
Remember thé chơi: keep thely the SaNumb thay Six dựa Đạt dự haixxyy. anki do all that thou bort fockzlat the seventh day is the Sbbich as thelord thy God. kait chou that do de maury
Thu that not amis thy neighbor's houle, thou Shalt not cover the neigh hours. wiftt por tus frant.ma ho mnlid, nor his way for his af nor
of work. thou, ind thy fon and chy daugher thy mantervane, and the mal
is within thy guts. For in fix
JOHN 18
Loop made health and varch thetens and all got in cheia is, and refted che
The Masyw
the (eventh day and loallowed it
The Altar showing the Queen Anne Communion Service and the Nathaniel Kay Flagon
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pentering and painting on the outside of the Church covered the repairs for that year.
The Old Church Repair Committee was instructed to make repairs at the Platform in July of 1887. In September 1888 the money in the Old Church Repair Fund was transferred from the Guild to the Treasurer of the Church. In October 1886 the Vestry authorized the Old Church Committee to remove the stairs on the outside of the Church where they had been since the steeple fell in 1866, and install stairs in the interior of the Church to give access to the gallery.
Mrs. Antis Updike Lee, a daughter of the second Lodo- wick Updike, gave a table, which had been in the Updike fami- ly for over a hundred years, to the New St. Paul's to be used as an altar or communion table in the late eighteen sixties. In 1888 D. B. Updike wanted this table for the Old Church, and he gave $100 towards a new altar for St. Paul's with the understanding that the marble top of this table be incised into the new altar. A wooden top was made for the old table and it was placed in the Old Church. After a while it was placed in the Chapel of the New Church and used as an altar. Again in 1925 Mr. Up- dike requested that a new altar be procured for the Chapel and the old table be restored to the Old Church. This was done and a little later another marble top similar to the original was sub- stituted for the wooden one. Since then, the old table in its original condition has remained as the altar in the Old Church. Thus the old Updike table was used from 1869 until 1956 when the original communion table was returned to the Old Narra- gansett Church.
Outside of the appointment each year of the Old Church Committees, the next reference in the records is a gift of the paint to paint the Old Church in 1897. In the same year the Old Church Property Committee was directed to have the steps pointed up at the MacSparran Grave Yard. On August 28, 1897, it was voted that Miss Sarah Sherman have charge of the Old Church and was authorized to charge five cents as an admission fee.
On October 5, 1897, it was voted to have the interior of the Old Church painted. At this time a Committee was appointed to have a box made for the Queen Anne Silver and have it placed
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in a vault. In October 1898 a gift of shingles to shingle the Old Church was acknowledged. In July 1899 it was voted to insure the Old Church. Apparently this was the first time that any insurance was carried on the building. For a number of years nothing occurred of moment regarding the Old Church. The Committees were appointed and the August Services were held, but there is no reference in the records to any action being taken affecting the Old Church.
In April 1906 it was voted to invite the Rhode Island Epis- copal Convention to meet in Wickford in 1907 and it was voted to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the Parish and of the Old Church in 1907.
On May 21, 1907, the Convention met in Wickford and the opening service was held in the Old Church. The Two Hun- dredth Anniversary of the building of Old St. Paul's was ob- served on September 9th and 10th of that year.
In March 1910 the Society of Colonial Dames was given permission to place a marker in the MacSparran Grave Yard marking the actual burying place of Dr. MacSparran and to have the MacSparran monument cleaned. In 1911 the Thomas family were given permission to remove the bodies of deceased members of their family from the Old Church Yard to the Elm Grove Cemetery.
In 1885 a committee was authorized to place a box in the Old Church for offerings. This apparently sufficed for a number of years, but owing to the fact that the box was frequently broken into and the money stolen, it was voted in October 1911 that Robert Aldrich buy a suitable box and have it placed in the Old Church for offerings. Undoubtedly this box is the same box which is now in the Old Church where visitors place their offerings towards the maintenance of the Old Narragansett Church Property.
In February 1912 Mr. D. B. Updike offered to paint the Old Church. On May 26, 1912, Mr. Updike was appointed on the Old Church Property Committee with the direction that he consult with the other members of the Committee regarding his plans for the future care and preservation of the Old Church Property, and the Committee was directed to use their best judgment relative to carrying out these plans.
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PART II
In February 1914 it was voted "that the vestry of St. Paul's Church, Wickford, having under consideration a proposition to transfer to the Diocese of Rhode Island its right and property in the Old Narragansett Church, respectfully asks the Bishop to appoint a small committee representing the Diocese which shall consult with a similar committee of this Vestry and con- jointly draw up a draft scheme to accomplish the transfer in such manner as shall secure the maintenance of the building and grounds as Church relics (now in good preservation) of great historical value and interest: and their use for special services and lectures etc. designed to stimulate historical re- search in the Diocese and particularly in the Narragansett Country. Such draft scheme to be submitted by St. Paul's Vestry and the Diocese by their respective committees and passed upon before further action is taken."
According to "The Old Narragansett Church" by the Rev. H. Newman Lawrence the above motion was made for the fol- lowing reasons:
"That from the force of circumstances, due chiefly to the dying out or removal of old families who for generations worshipped in the Old Church and cared for its safety and pre- servation almost as a family heirloom, the local interest therein has diminished, and its historical value is in danger of being less recognized. The few remaining representatives of the old fami- lies earnestly desire that the Old Church shall be carefully pre- served and used in such a way that its value to the Church in Rhode Island, as the oldest church building this side of the Potomac, and its strong witness to early. church history in New England with its sacred memories of Dr. MacSparran the "Apostle of the Narragansett Country" shall not be lost; but rather maintained and developed. This they believe can best be accomplished by placing the property in the hands of the Diocese."
On May 14th, 1914, the committee consisting of the Rector (Rev. H. Newman Lawrence), Mr. D. B. Updike and Mr. James A. Greene reported and were continued with power to make the transfer upon the terms laid down.
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Old Church from the Greenway
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On May 19, 1914, the Diocesan Convention met and on the following day the following resolution was moved and un- animously adopted: "Resolved, that the offer of the Corpora- tion and Vestry of St. Paul's Parish, Wickford to present to the Convention the Old Narragansett Church the grounds within which it stands: the Old Narragansett Burial Ground and orig- inal site of the Church together with the MacSparran monu- ment and other monuments of historic interest which stand therein, be, and hereby is, accepted, on the conditions named in the report of the conference on the subject as follows:
St. Paul's Parish to carry out work in strengthening the foundations of the Old Church and adding to its durability at a cost not exceeding two hundred dollars: and to turn over, with the property, the balance of the maintenance fund, which amounts to about two hundred and fifty dollars. The Conven- tion to maintain the building and grounds in as good a condi- tion as when handed over. The management to be in the hands of a committee or board appointed by the Bishop, with himself as Chairman, and having amongst its members the Rector of St. Paul's, Wickford, and Mr. D. B. Updike. The property to be put into use under the direction of the committee or board named above. The building to be reinsured against fire." On October 12, 1914, the Vestry authorized by resolution the car- rying out of the transfer including the appointment of a com- mittee to sign the deeds and see that everything was in proper form. The Treasurer of the Church was authorized to make payments to the Treasurer of the Convention of the monies called for in the Resolution of transfer.
On October 28, 1914, the Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, the Ceremonial Transfer of the Old Narragansett Church to the Rhode Island Episcopal Convention was completed at a special service. The Rev. H. Newman Lawrence in his book on "The Old Narragansett Church" gives a full and lengthy account of the service. A full report of the ceremony of transfer was made to the Vestry at the meeting held July 6, 1915.
When the Old Church was transferred to the Diocese in 1914, although there was need of repairs to the windows and sashes, the outside was in reasonably fair condition, but very little had been done on the inside towards the restoration of the Church, although three or four gifts given only a short period
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before evidently had a restoration in mind. The various steps by which the building, reclaimed and made usable under the direction of the St. Paul's organization, was restored to its former glories under the management of the Diocesan Old Nar- ragansett Church Committee, are set forth in the minutes of the Committee meetings and in the Committee's reports to the Episcopal Convention.
Immediately following the transfer of the Old Church to the Diocese, the collection taken up amounting to $65.25, was sent to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in London, as an expression of our appreciation and grati- tude to the old Society for its liberal assistance in founding and supporting the Old Narragansett Church in those far-off days before the Revolutionary War.
Soon after the transfer the Committee published a short history of the Old Narragansett Church written by the Rev. H. Newman Lawrence, Rector of St. Paul's Church 1912-1920. This was done in carrying out the recommendations of the com- mittee in charge of the transfer. Although 500 copies were pub- lished the edition is now exhausted and it is almost impossible today to obtain a copy even from a second-hand book dealer.
The need of a Robing Room for the Rector had long been felt, and the Old Church Committee authorized the addition of a Sacristy in the fall of 1916. As there was not sufficient money in the maintenance fund to pay the $500 needed for this addition, Mr. George Gordon King a member of the committee made a sizeable gift of money to enable the committee to pay the bills connected therewith. The furnishings of the Sacristy were ob- tained by purchase and by gift.
In 1917 the Rector of St. Paul's Church, who serves ex of- ficio as Secretary of the Old Narragansett Church Committee, reported that he had purchased an old reed organ in good con- dition from a minister in Phillipsdale for $40.00 for the Old Church.
The plaster in the Old Church was in bad condition and the records show continually the need of repairs and appropria- tions therefor, until 1926 when a thorough job was done. Ap- parently since that time the plastering has remained in good condition.
The exterior of the building had been painted a dingy gray
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for a long time and in 1922 $100 was appropriated to paint it one coat of the same color, with the provision that if the amount was not sufficient to paint the entire building then the front and two ends only were to be painted. Apparently this was post- poned until after certain major repairs were made in the fall of 1922. At that time the front and the west end were reclap- boarded. In the course of these repairs it was discovered that originally there was a round window in the west gable end cor- responding to the one in the east end. This window was un- doubtedly closed up when the tower was built in 1811 and after the tower fell down in 1866, there was no one left who knew of its existence. The old round window was thereupon replaced. It was also discovered at this time that the Church was orig- inally painted white. The Church was in 1923 painted white instead of the dingy gray and it has been painted white ever since.
Mr. Daniel Berkeley Updike, through a friend had located - an old oak altar rail in England of the period in which the Old Narragansett Church was built. This was later obtained and was installed in the Old Church in 1923. Such alterations in the interior were made at this time as were necessary in order to place the altar rail in the east end of the Church where is it now located.
Due to the fact that visitors were writing their names on the plaster in the Church, Mr. Joseph Warren Greene gave a book designed by Mr. D. B. Updike for visitors to register in and a shelf to hold it, placed near the door. He also gave a right of way and land at the Platform to the Old Church on June 6, 1916 so as to protect the so-called MacSparran Burying Ground and insuring to visitors an undisputed opportunity to visit the original site of the Old Church.
In 1924 the front fence of the Old Church was repaired and the stone posts were reset and minor repairs were made to the Church building. Apparently this year marked the begin- ning of keeping a box for Old Church offerings in the Wick- ford House as the report to the Convention in May 1925 men- tions money collected from the Wickford House box for the first time. In 1925 the fallen stones in the Church Yard were repaired and reset.
The next entry of note is the gift by Mr. D. B. Updike of
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Original Altar Table in Old Narragansett Church
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the reredos back of the altar with the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Apostle's Creed inscribed thereon in antique lettering in memory of his mother. This type of rere- dos was common in Churches of the period. This was placed in the Church in 1929. In the same year the gift by the Greene family of the wine glass pulpit with a reading desk to cor- respond was announced and it was installed in memory of Mr. James A. Greene.
In this same year a marble top similar to the old marble top was placed on the Old Communion Table in place of the wooden top which had been substituted when the original marble top was incised into the altar of New St. Paul's. Although it was suggested by the Old Church Committee in 1918 that this Communion Table be restored to the Old Church and a new altar given in its place to the New Church as an altar in the Chapel the Table was not actually restored to the Old Church until 1925.
In 1928 curtains were purchased and hung in the windows of the Church and Sacristy. In 1930 the Church was given one coat of paint. The Old Church was reshingled in 1934 with as- bestos shingles, the Committee feeling that the Old Church might be set afire from flying sparks and embers if ever there was a fire in any of the neighboring houses or buildings. While this work was in progress it was discovered that at some time in the past there had been a hanging chimney on the Old Church suspended from the rafters, over the center aisle, between the roof of the building and the rounded ceiling of the Church. The remains of this chimney were removed at this time. In 1935 the ceiling and walls of the Sacristy were refinished and the floor was revarnished. At the time it was felt that the interior of the Church needed repainting, but it was put off until a later date.
The walls of the Church were formerly painted a grayish white and the woodwork of the interior was painted gray. Much of the gallery was unpainted. The floor and trimmings were painted a brownish red. These sombre colors gave the interior a somewhat dingy appearance. In 1942 the interior of the Church was thoroughly cleaned and redecorated. The floor was painted the same color as before but of a brighter shade. The woodwork was painted a lively colonial gray and the trim- mings were kept a mahogany shade, but the walls became a rich
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golden yellow. The window curtains were laundered and mended. The brass chandelier and sconces were cleaned and re- finished. The old unpainted seats and floor in the gallery were given a preserving coat which allows the old boards to show the rich coloring acquired through generations by exposure to light and air, and the whole interior was thoroughly cleaned. All of which results in a setting which inspires joyous worship.
A new fence was erected on the northern side of the proper- ty in the summer of 1943 made of barbed wire to discourage the use of the Church Yard as a thoroughfare.
The same year the exterior of the Church was given two coats of white paint with special attention to stopping any leaks around the windows. A new threshold was also put in to take the place of the old one which due to decay was allowing water to penetrate to the sills.
When the Church was transferred to the Diocese, there was about $800 in the maintenance fund. Although this was added to by the collections, in two or three years this fund was ex- hausted in paying for the necessary repairs to the old building. The only money which the Committee had to take care of the Church and grounds came from the collections from the August services eked out by the small gifts made by the visitors and dropped in boxes in the church and in the Wickford House. For about a dozen years the Episcopal Convention appropriated $200.00 a year towards the maintenance and restoration of the Old Church but during the years of the depression the state of the Convention finances did not permit the continuance of this appropriation. In her will in 1933 Mrs. Elizabeth LeMoine Miller made a bequest of a fund of $5000 known as the Mary E. Congdon Davis Fund to St. Paul's Church the income of the fund to be used for the maintenance and upkeep of the Old Church. Since then this amount together with the collections and minor gifts has enabled the Committee to keep the Old Church in good repair and its grounds in good condition.
In 1936 there was a service commemorating the three hun- dredth anniversary of the founding of Rhode Island and later a coronation service commemorating the coronation of King George VI of England.
On August 24, 1944 the title to the lovely old flagstone
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walk, extending along quaint old Main Street in Wickford and from Main Street to the end of Church Lane, was given to the Diocese by Mr. Joseph Warren Greene and his two sisters, Mrs. Henry Beckwith, and Miss Alice Greene in honor of their father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Warren Greene, Sr. who were members of St. Paul's Parish in Wickford. Recently it has been decided by those interested in historic lore to have the names of the past rectors with the dates of their service in this church recorded upon these same flagstones-a flagstone des- ignated to each rector. On December 30, 1944 the adjoining property, consisting of an old house and one acre of land situated on Main Street was given to the Diocese as a memorial gift to Daniel Berkeley Updike.
In 1944 the Pettaquamscutt Chapter, D.A.R. gave a new American Flag to the Old Church.
In 1951 the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts celebrated the 250th anniversary of their founding. Noel B. Hudson, Lord Bishop of Newcastle in Eng- land held a service in the Old Narragansett Church when he visited this country on September 24, 1951 as a representative of this society. The collection amounting to $78.73 was given to him as a token payment for a contribution.
In June 1953 at the coronation service, commemorating the coronation of Elizabeth II as Queen of England, the old Queen Anne prayer book was again used.
The latest gift to the Old Narragansett Church was given by Mrs. Edward P. Casey. Mr. Edward P. Casey, owner of the Casey Farm in Saunderstown, claimed that he owned the orig- inal Communion Table belonging to the Old Narragansett Church. Mr. Norman Isham, the eminent authority on Colonial Architecture and Colonial Furniture, accepted this table as the original table. On June 15, 1955 Mrs. Casey at her death gave this table back to the Old Narragansett Church. The table is over two hundred years old. This is probably the Communion Table referred to earlier in this brochure as being made in 1721 by Thomas Peckham, Jr.
At Christmas time each year for the past few years the Old Church has been decorated with wreaths made by Mrs. Hunter C. White. Through the kindness and generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Perry a flood light has been attached to their
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East Interior of Church showing Reading Desk and Altar
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house circuit for the purpose of flood lighting the Church through the Christmas Season.
PART III
The Old Narragansett Church is a rather unusual structure reminding us more of an old South County mansion house than a church. It is almost as simple in its lines as an old Quaker Meeting House. With the exception of the wide double door, framed in an arched door frame with a broken pediment, its arched windows on the ground floor and its lack of a chimney, there is nothing to distinglish it from the general run of large houses of its period. The interior is also rather unusual for an Episcopal Church, with the altar on the side in the middle of the east end and the pulpit and reading desk opposite the door in the middle of the north side. This separation of the pulpit and reading desk, and the altar suggests the famous old Pohick Church in Northern Virginia.
As we enter the door we at once note the wine glass pulpit, towering above its surroundings, a replica of the original pul- pit, where in the old days, over two hundred years ago, the portly old rector, the Rev. Dr. MacSparran, climbed the narrow stairs to preach his eloquent sermons to the Narragansett Plant- ers, their families and slaves. In the east is the altar with its rope turnings over two hundred years old with a mahogany Queen Anne Chair on either side and all flanked by the Warden's Pews with the Warden's staffs in the corner. Around the outside walls are the old box pews with their narrow uncushioned seats. Above on three sides of the Church is the old gallery added in 1723, supported by six large solid wooden columns which suggest by their size and appearance the lower part of the masts of ships. In this gallery the slaves sat in the days of long ago. The posts, girts and beams are exposed and their size tells us that they were hewn in the old days when virgin timber from the primeval forests was cut in the neighborhood. In the center of the Church hangs an old brass chandelier suspended from the mas- sive timbers which support the roof while around the walls are sconces to hold the candles which, we must remember, were the only sources of light in the evenings of long ago. Wherever we
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