LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 University of California. 
 
 RECEIVED BY EXCHANGE 
 
 Class 
 
 *i$ 
 
^5»**33? 
 
 Of 
 
 THE 
 
 OF 
 
TRINITY CHURCH, UTICA, N. Y. 
 
ONE HUNDRED YEARS 
 
 -OF— 
 
 tTrinitiP Gburcb, 
 
 UTICA, N. Y. 
 
 Edited by 
 
 REV. JOHN R. HARDING. 
 
 UTICA, N. Y.: 
 
 'KESS OF THOMAS J. GRIFFITHS, 131 GENESEE STREET. 
 
 1898. 
 
m* 3 
 
 
PR E FA C E 
 
 The papers, addresses and letters herein given are printed in 
 full just as they were presented at the time. The article, 'The 
 Choirs of Old Trinity," was not read during the centennial, 
 but kindly contributed since then by Mr. John Burt of New 
 York, a former Utican and organist of Trinity Church. 
 
 The roll of Rectors, Wardens and Vestrymen, was compiled 
 in 1887 by Mr. D. Walter Perkins of Trinity Parish, and re- 
 printed here as a valuable addition to this history. 
 
 It was also thought appropriate in thus recording the story 
 of One Hundred Years, to say something here about the cen- 
 tennial as a wliole, which article is the last in the book. 
 
 The illustrations of the building, and the portraits of the 
 founder and several rectors, will undoubtedly lend an interest. 
 The only regret is that a diligent search has failed to secure 
 any photograph of the first three rectors, Rev. Jonathan Judd, 
 Rev. Amos Glover Baldwin, and Rev. Henry M. Shaw. Our 
 gratitude is extended to all those who in these papers, ad- 
 dresses and letters, thus willingly and freely contributed their 
 interest and time, as a work of love. Due credit should be 
 given also for the able assistance rendered the editor, by his 
 colleagues on the centennial committee, Mr. William M. 
 Storrs, and Mr. George M. Weaver, the Wardens of the par- 
 ish. 
 
 We trust that this little volume in being a permanent re- 
 minder of the loyalt> and good deeds of an honored past, may 
 also be for all its readers an inspiration for the future. With 
 this wish it it respectfully dedicated to all of Old Trinity's sons 
 and daughters, past, present and to come. 
 
 JOHN R. HARDING. 
 Trinity Rectory, Utica, N. Y., 
 All Saints Day, 1898. 
 
 217317 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Arthur, Mrs. Elizabeth P., Letter from 79 
 
 Arthur, Rev. John, Letters read by 72 
 
 Bagg, Dr. Moses M., Paper by 94 
 
 Brown, Mrs. Elizabeth, Letter from 72 
 
 Burt, Mr. John, Paper by 131 
 
 Centennial Exercises, An Account of the 148 
 
 Centennial Exercises, Programme of the 7 
 
 Central New York, Diocese of ... . 10 
 
 Chase, Rt. Rev. Philander, LL.D., Recollections of 88 
 
 Chase, Rev. Dudley, Retired Chaplain, U. S. A., Address 
 
 by 88 
 
 Choirs The, of Old Trinity 13 1 
 
 Congratulation, Addresses of 10 
 
 Harding, Rev. John R., Paper by ii<5 
 
 Historical Society, The Oneida County, 19 
 
 Hubbard, Mr. Robert J., Letter from - 85 
 
 Huntington, Rt. Rev. Frederick Dan, L.L.D., Address by 10 
 
 Kinney, Hon. Thomas E., Address by 18 
 
 Laymen of Trinity Church, Some Prominent 96 
 
 Maxon, Rev. William D., Address by 57 
 
 Miller, Miss Blandina D., Paper by 96 
 
 Mohawk Valley, Early Church History of the Lower, . . 21 
 
 Olmsted, Rev. Charles T„ S. T. D., Address by, 14 
 
 I 'aris Hill, St. Paul's Church, 11 
 
 Pastors of Utica 16 
 
 Peas, Mrs Elizabeth C, Letter from 83 
 
 Pendleton, Rev. J. Philip B., D. D., Paper by 21 
 
Perkins, Mr. D. Walter, Article by 136 
 
 Proctor, Mr. Thomas R., Address by 19 
 
 Rectors Trinity's, The Work and Characteristics of ... . 116 
 
 Rectors, Wardens and Vestrymen, Roll of 136 
 
 Reminiscence, Letters of 72. 
 
 Sister Parishes of Utica, 14 
 
 Spiritual Needs of Our Age, The Church's Adaptability to 
 
 the 57 
 
 Storrs, Mr. William M. Chairman, 7 
 
 Trinity Church, Recollections of 94 
 
 Utica, The City of 18 
 
 Weaver, Mr. George M., Paper read by 94 
 
 Wicks, Rev. John B., Address by 11 
 
 * 
 
Services anb Hbbresses* 
 
 MR. WILLIAM M. STORRS, 
 Senior Warden Trinity Church, Chairman. 
 
 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15th. 
 7:30 P. M., Processional. Hymn 520. 
 
 Creed, Versicles and Prayers. 
 Addresses of Congratulation. 
 
 For the Diocese of Central New York, 
 
 Rt. Rev. F. D.Huntington, L. L. D. ; 
 For St. Paul's Church, Paris Hill, 
 
 The Rev. John B. Wicks; 
 For the Sister Parishes of Utica, 
 
 The Rev. Charles T. Olmsted, S. T. D. 
 Hymn 672. 
 
 For the Pastors of Utica, 
 
 The Rev. Thomas J. Brown, D. D. 
 For the City of Utica, 
 
 Hon. Thomas E. Kinney, Mayor. 
 
 For the Oneida County Historical Society, 
 
 Mr. Thomas R. Proctor. 
 Benediction — Recessional Hymn 516. 
 
 9:00 In Trinity Parish House. 
 
 Reception by the Parish, to the Bishop, Clergy and Laity 
 
 of the Diocese and vicinity. 
 
 THURSDAY, JUNE 16th. 
 
 9:30 A. M. — Holy Communion. 
 
 Processional Hymn 445. 
 
 Hymn 197. 
 
 Offerings for the Missions of the Diocese. 
 
 Communion Hymn 225. 
 
 Nunc Dimittis. 
 
 11:00 A. M. — Hymn 491. Prayers. 
 
 Paper. 
 
 4 'The Early History of the Church in the Lower Mohawk 
 Valley," by the Rev. J. Philip B. Pendleton, D. D., 
 Rector, St. George's Church, Schenectady, N. Y. 
 
Hymn 485. 
 Paper, 
 "The Church's Adaptability to the Spiritual Needs of Our 
 Age," by the Rev. Wm. D. Maxon, D. D., Rector, 
 Calvary Church, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 Benediction — Recessional, Hymn 253. 
 
 1 :oo P. M. Luncheon in Trinity Parish House. 
 
 3 :oo P. M. Hymn 487. Prayers. 
 
 Letters of Reminiscence from former Parishioners of 
 
 Trinity Church, read by Rev. John Arthur, Rector 
 St. John's Church, Oneida. 
 Letters by Mrs. Elizabeth Brown, Denver, Colorado; 
 Mrs. Elizabeth P. Arthur, Utica; Mrs. Isabella C. 
 Peas, Mohawk ; Mr. Robert J. Hubbard, Cazenovia. 
 
 Hymn 179. 
 
 Address. 
 
 "Some Recollections of the Rt. Rev. Philander 
 Chase, LL.D., First Bishop of Ohio and Illinois," by 
 his son, The Rev. Dudley Chase, Retired Chaplain, 
 U. S. A., Philadelphia, Pa. 
 Paper — by Dr. Moses M. Bagg, Utica. 
 
 Prayer — Benediction. 
 
 Recessional, Hymn 511. 
 
 7:30 P.M. Processional. Hymn 187. 
 
 Creed, Versicles and Prayers. 
 'Hymn 584. 
 
 "Some Prominent Laymen of Trinity Church," 
 written by Miss Blandina D. Miller, Utica, and read 
 by Mr. George M. Weaver, Junior Warden, Trinity 
 Church. 
 Paper, 
 
 "The Work and Characteristics of Trinity's Rectors," by 
 Rev. John R. Harding. 
 
 Doxology, 
 
 "Praise God from whom all Blessings flow." 
 Prayers — Benediction. 
 Recessional. 580. 
 
Of THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
INTERIOR OF TRINITY CHURCH, 
 At the time of the Centennial. 
 
O* TH£ 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 ADDRESSES OF CONGRATULATION. 
 
 For the Diocese of Central New York. 
 
 RT. REV. FREDERICK DAN HUNTINGTON, L. L. D. 
 
 "You must know that I am here simply because I could not 
 stay away," he said, "and that is my greeting to you. We are 
 gathered as churchmen and churchwomen, and not only as 
 members and friends of Old Trinity. The beginning and 
 growth of old Trinity mark the beginning and growth of the 
 community to which we belong, and we belong to the 
 kingdom of God on the earth. It makes us feel as 
 if we would like to take each other by the hand. A well-known 
 Englishman says that the power of any great people depends 
 on continuing and completing the work of its ancestors. He 
 says that if we look over the history of nations one can always 
 date the decline from the time they ceased to have reverence 
 in the heart for, and faith in those before and above them. 
 That is the secret of continued prosperity. When the people 
 begin to neglect or under-rate the labors of their ancestors, 
 they begin to decline. How true that is of civil, ecclesiastical, 
 State and Church growth! If men only remember what true 
 greatness is; if they will only remember that character consti- 
 tutes national grandeur, or grandeur of the church ; if this is 
 the spirit of the American land and nation, we shall fnfill the 
 promise of the old prophet who said "The life of the true is 
 the life of my people, for they are the chosen of the 
 1 
 
io One Hundred Years of 
 
 Lord and shall eat of the fruit of their doings, and not labor in 
 vain, and they shall prosper.'' 
 
 That is the precise condition of the strength and prosperity 
 with any people and the people of any parish. Reverence is 
 the root; reverence for God and God's ordinances; reverence 
 for the past, for law, for authority. It is found as nowhere 
 else in this church of the Apostles, and so you and I attend 
 the centennial of Trinity with gratitude and joy. 
 
 Just at the beginning of the history of this parish there was 
 a transition period. Utica ceased to be simply an old fort, 
 and became what it was to be. We have some traces of that 
 strange time, but it shows this, that its growth was two-fold, 
 from the missionary force outside and the inherent powers 
 inside. Here conies the late Philander Chase, missionary, one 
 hundred years ago, and finds a few scattered families, who 
 know the Prayer Book and the Apostles Creed, and could 
 say, "Our father which is in heaven." He looked them up 
 and drew them together. There were lay readers who after 
 his departure read the service. So it went on for five 
 years, and then another missionary came, and it was three years 
 more before there was anything like a church or a sanctuary. 
 In the general convention of 1795 there were eight clergymen 
 and sixteen laymen, constituting the convention. Utica was 
 the frontier. It was twenty years before there was the Diocese 
 of Ohio or Western New York. The law of growth attains 
 in both conditions, the civil and the ecclesiastical. They had 
 ireverent faith in their hearts, and so deep and sincere was it 
 that it triumphed over everything. The future has been the fu- 
 ture which is now the past, which you are enjoying to-night. 
 You look about and see what Utica is. You will agree that 
 the Church has been the unpretending but steadfast witness 
 to the unseen world, and the evidence of its reality. To-day 
 according to the directory of the city there are fifty-three relig- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. n 
 
 ious societies, about one for every thousand people. We are 
 sorry that they are not worshiping- in the same church. We 
 wish that all said the Apostles Creed. We wish they were all 
 •enjoying what we enjoy, and believe what we believe. We are 
 glad and grateful for what God has given us. But those 
 deviations in worship and ordinance do not separate Christian 
 hearts, and so we have this for congratulation. We speak one 
 name above all. We open the pages of the same Bible. It is 
 a common heritage that we have. May we not say that if all 
 have been quite consistent in the confessions of faith that 
 would have been something nearer to the grand unity of the 
 Christian faith. That marks the duty of the future. You are 
 under double obligations to bring forth the truth of God's 
 goodness to you. The remembrance of the past should be a 
 stimulus to the future, and all pleasant and bright things 
 recalled are a motive and an appeal. This puts us under bonds 
 of obedience. The better days are to be repeated. There 
 have been men here since I came thirty years ago who were 
 worthy successors to the old pioneers. They were your 
 guardians." 
 
 For St. Paul's Church, Paris Hill, N. Y. 
 
 REV. JOHN B. WICKS. 
 
 St. Paul's Church, Paris Hill, one hundred and one years 
 young, sends greeting to Trinity Church, Utica, one hundred 
 years young. You have been busy an entire century building 
 a temple, and now as you put the cap-stone in place, we join 
 our shoutings with yours, "Grace, grace, unto it." 
 
 The temple you have shaped is not a building of wood and 
 stone that passes away, but a house of character that liveth 
 ever more and more. 
 
 I recall many of the men and women, the living stones of 
 this building. Among your rectors it has been my privilege 
 
12 
 
 One Hundred Years of 
 
 and pleasure to know more or less intimately, Drs. Proal and 
 Ooxe, Messrs. Gardner and Harding. 
 
 In my boyhood days Dr. Proal was frequently at Paris Hill 
 in exchange with the rector there. My father's farm-house 
 was his stopping place, and memory holds the scene as the 
 good Doctor sat in the home circle making it glad with the 
 words of wit and wisdom. It seems but yesterday, though 
 fifty years have passed that the thrifty house-wife brought in 
 the refreshing beverage, brewed from the very nectar of the 
 honey — metheglin the farmers called it. I can see the glass 
 held lovingly in the good man's hand while he quoted, 
 
 "Her home brewed ale she made so good 
 
 The sexton came and proved it, 
 The rector thought it not amiss, 
 
 And harvest men all loved it." 
 
 In the old parish on the Hill, as here, the Doctor illustrated 
 by word and deed a very genial, sweet, pure gospel. 
 
 Dr. Coxe was his successor, and I knew him more intimate- 
 ly. In the Doctor's study I passed my examination for 
 Deacon's orders. The Doctor's final question on that occa- 
 sion w r as, " Please repeat the last two verses of the Old Testa- 
 ment?" I began, hesitated and stopped. The Doctor assayed 
 to help me, but only partially succeeded, so that together we 
 but imperfectly completed the quotation. I have always felt 
 that it was the good man's generous way of letting me out of 
 the dilemma easily. His ready wit was proverbial. 
 
 The next day after the fence was removed from about old 
 Trinity, Dr. Goodrich called upon the rector, and told him 
 how much he admired the improvement, and expressed the 
 wish that they might get the fence about Calvary Church 
 taken away. Dr. Coxe replied: "Why, you can do it easily, 
 preach a sermon, take the text, 'Sincere and without offense.' ,: 
 The Doctor was every inch a Christian minister, and adorned 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 13 
 
 his holy office with a grace and dignity that could not be ex- 
 celled. 
 
 The Rev. Charles Gardner who followed Dr. Coxe in the 
 rectorship, came to you in the strength of his early manhood, 
 a generous, brave, true worker, how easily he won all our 
 hearts. But yesterday he entered upon life eternal, and his 
 '''works follow him." 
 
 Personally Dr. Maxon, Mr. Gardner's successor, has not 
 been in the circle of my friends known and loved. His praise 
 however, is in all the churches, as his wise precepts and ex- 
 ample find place in all your hearts. 
 
 For him who breaks the bread of life to you to-day, the Rev. 
 John R. Harding, I have only words of warm praise. Long may 
 he minister in the old parish, and find the joy of his heart in 
 Trinity's men and women, epistles of God known and read 
 of all men. Several of your Laity I have known and. loved 
 for many years. I read their names on the tablets here, and 
 across all the canvass of your parish life — Collins, Comstock, 
 Shearman, Storrs, Weaver, Seymour and others. The inci- 
 dents are many which rise and linger lovingly in memory's 
 house as I repeat their names. How clear is the perspective 
 of an interview in the Deerfield home with that man of God, 
 Horatio Seymour. I called upon him while I was engaged 
 in the Indian work, and he responded to my interest in this 
 wide field with a glowing word picture of the greatness of the 
 ■Iroquois nation that occupied the hills and vales of Central 
 >New York. I remember he took down a large map of the 
 State, and finding no other place to put it he spread it upon 
 the floor, then got down on his hands and knees, and pointed 
 out the strong points in the tribal location. Instinctively I re- 
 member I assumed the same position he did, feeling that my 
 attitude at heart should be as humble as his. Of the other 
 .good and true men and women of your parish I should like to 
 speak in detail, but lack of time forbids. They were loyal 
 
14 One Hundred Years of 
 
 workers in this historic vineyard, now gone to> their reward, 
 while you have entered into their labors. As I began so I 
 conclude, "All hail, Trinity Parish, Utica, one hundred years 
 young." 
 
 For the Sister Parishes of Utica. 
 
 REV. CHARLES T. OLMSTED, S. T. D. 
 
 I come this evening to bring the congratulations of those 
 whom the authorities of this Parish, with courteous modesty, 
 designate as the "Sister Parishes." But we have been in the 
 habit of regarding Old Trinity as the "Mother Parish," and 
 ourselves as her offspring. No doubt a girl, when she gets 
 to be sixty years old, may well begin to feel that she has 
 Reached the point when she can be looked upon as her 
 (mothers sister; but it will generally be found that the old 
 lady herself still considers her a child, and does not approve 
 of her getting very far away from her leading strings. How- 
 ever, that may be in this case, whether as sisters, or as daugh- 
 ters and grand-daughters, we come to-night with hearts full 
 of good will and love for Trinity Church, and offer her our 
 most sincere congratulation on the attainment of one hun- 
 dred years of life. We congratulate her on the wonderful 
 vigor which she has shown through all the decades of the 
 century. I confess I have often thought with admiration of 
 the remarkable strength manifested by this Parish sixty years 
 ago, when she was able to send off to Genesee Street, above 
 the canal, a self-supporting colony, which became the Parish 
 of Grace Church, and still to keep on her way here on the 
 old spot just as if nothing had happened. And we congratu- 
 late her that she has succeeded in "holding the fort" here in 
 the place where she first began — Old Fort Schuyler, which 
 originally gave its location to the village of Utica, and stood 
 but a little way to the east of this church, is now gone. Not 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 15 
 
 one stone or brick of its structure now rests upon another, 
 and the site is marked only by two or three guns recently 
 placed there. But Trinity Church, which began its work 
 right here a century ago, still remains here, and has not 
 yielded to the bewitching temptation to move up-town, which 
 in so many other cities in this land has caused the older par- 
 ishes to leave their original sites, whence the wealthy popula- 
 tion disappeared, and to go off to greener pastures in some 
 other neighborhood. 
 
 But the thought which is uppermost in my mind to-night 
 in connection with this subject, is the proper relation of par- 
 ishes to one another. A parish is simply a contrivance for 
 the more convenient prosecution of the work of the church. 
 We are all engaged in that same work, which is the winning 
 of souls to Christ, and the promotion of the glory of God; 
 and our parish is that part of the whole church in which we 
 are called to do that work. The relation of one parish to an- 
 other, then, should certainly be that of entire sympathy and 
 good will. The idea that, because one parish has a hand- 
 somer church, or a finer organ, or a larger number of per- 
 sons confirmed each year, another parish should therefore be 
 jealous or envious of it, is very absurd. We know that such 
 feelings are in our human nature, and that they have been al- 
 lowed sometimes to manifest themselves, and even to predom- 
 inate in the working of the parochial system; but certainly 
 they are unworthy of Christian people, and ought not to pre- 
 vail among us. And it is not the least of our causes for con- 
 gratulation, on this auspicious occasion, that the parishes in 
 Utica can be truly said to be in that happy condition, in which 
 they mutually love and respect each other, and are willing to 
 (work, each in its own sphere for its own success, and also to 
 co-operate in harmony and good will for the promotion of 
 the best interests of the church at large. There is not one of 
 us that does not rejoice in Old Trinity's success, and regard- 
 
1 6 One Hundred Years of 
 
 ing her strength in the past we cordially unite in saying 
 "Semper vigeat." 
 
 The Pastors of Utica. 
 
 REV. THOMAS J. BROWN, D. D. 
 
 The woman in the parable when she had found the piece of 
 silver she had lost, and the shepherd too on recovering his 
 lost sheep called together their friends and neighbors, saying, 
 "Rejoice with me." What a natural impulse of a generous 
 heart that is? The touch of nature that makes us akin to that 
 shepherd and that woman is in their words "Rejoice with me." 
 Our Lord himself would have his chosen friends with him, 
 not only in the darkness and sorrow of Gethsemane, but in 
 the bright clouds and transcendent glory of the Mount of 
 Transfiguration. Whatever the occasion of our joy, unless 
 we be churls, we seek to share it, we call together our friends 
 and neighbors, saying, "Rejoice with me." And gladly 
 friends and neighbors respond to the invitation. If any mis- 
 fortune had befallen this parish, if your greatly esteemed rec- 
 tor were taken from you, or your buildings destroyed by fire, 
 every congregation in the city would be prompt to offer its 
 sympathy and assistance. How gladly then should we all join 
 in the congratulations and happiness of this hour. 
 
 I little thought when I came to you on the celebration of 
 the seventy-fifth anniversary of your Church's consecra- 
 tion on the same errand that brings me here to- 
 night that it should be my happy lot at the end 
 of seventeen years again to congratulate you. Then I knew 
 of you by the hearing of the ear; now I know you by witness- 
 ing during this time the earnestness and fidelity with 
 which you have continued to build upon the firm foundation 
 laid so many years ago, by making the uninterrupted growth 
 and prosperity which you have enjoyed, and by the pleasant 
 personal relations which it has been my privilege to have with 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 17 
 
 all your rectors and many of their parishioners. I am better 
 fitted for my task, therefore, than I was seventeen years ago. 
 
 It is a very simple task, however, as well as very pleasant 
 task, and one that may be quickly discharged. I bring to you, 
 dear brethren of Trinity parish, and to you, sir, the rector, 
 the sincere and hearty congratulation of all the churches and 
 ministers about you in whose behalf I may be permitted to 
 speak. We congratulate you on your past, on the place you 
 have won for yourselves and maintained through so many 
 years in the brotherhood of churches. You are proud of your 
 history. But so are we proud of your history, for your his- 
 tory is a part of the history of Christ's kingdom in this corner 
 of the world. No man liveth to himself; no church liveth to 
 itself. The weal of us all is wrapped up in the history of each. 
 For a hundred years Trinity parish has been a joy and a bless- 
 ing to this whole community. We congratulate you on your 
 past. 
 
 We congratulate you on your present, on the good degree 
 of prosperity you are now enjoying, on the many fields of use- 
 fulness in which you are engaged, on your love for your 
 church and the spirit of earnest and hearty co-operation which 
 animates you. Not living in the past, not content with attain- 
 ment already made, believing that a church a century old 
 should be still in its youth, you are recognizing present op- 
 portunity for adding to laurels already won, and giving your- 
 selves to the improvement of this your day and opportunity. 
 In all this you have our earnest sympathy. We congratulate 
 you on your present. 
 
 We congratulate you on your future — that is, on the bright 
 prospect before you as you enter upon the second century of 
 your history. To the whole church of the living God the 
 future is ever bright with the promise of increasing glory and 
 ultimate triumphs. Neither in the past nor in the present is 
 to be found its perfect work. Not yet do we see all things sub- 
 
1 8 One Hundred Years of 
 
 ject to the sway of our Lord Christ. But we shall see it, or 
 the word of the Lord faileth evermore. And each church and 
 each Christian may, by the grace of God, contribute to and be 
 cheered by the assurance of this final triumph. "Forgetting 
 the things that are behind and reaching forth unto those 
 things which are before, we press on." Trinity parish need 
 not be, and will not be, in the days to come, second to any in 
 all that constitutes genuine success. It may not excel in num- 
 bers; that signifies little. Not in wealth; that signifies less. 
 It may not have advantag-es of location or ample and well ap- 
 pointed buildings. Yet in devotion, in true spiritual life, in 
 service for our common Master, in likeness to Him in the 
 ends sought and the manner of seeking them, it may still hold 
 on its way, blessed of God and honored of all men. 
 
 Accept, then, our congratulations and sincere wishes that 
 all grace and blessing may be and abide with you. In behalf 
 of my brethren in the ministry and the churches to which 
 they minister I will now say 
 
 "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity, 
 
 Within thy palaces. For my brethren 
 
 And companions' sakes, I will say, 
 
 Peace be within thee." 
 
 The City of Utica. 
 
 HON. THOMAS E. KINNEY, MAYOR 
 
 It is altogether fitting and proper that the City of Utica 
 on this occasion should acknowledge the great debt of grati- 
 tude she owes to Trinity Church for her century of prayer and 
 noble example in our midst, elevating our people and making 
 them better Christians and citizens. If the tree is known by 
 its fruit, and the church by its members, then this humble, un- 
 pretentious structure has some claim to renown, for at least 
 two of the mighty in the land worshiped in this temple. One 
 was nominated and thought worthy by a great party of the 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 19 
 
 country to grace the Presidential chair, first held by the fa- 
 ther of his country. The other refused the chief justiceship 
 of the United States. Yes, the brothers-in-law, Seyniour and 
 Conkling, were members of this church, and another brother- 
 in-law, Rev. Dr. Coxe, expounded the gospel to them in this 
 edifice. The fame of this church, however, does not rest on 
 the shoulders of any two men, however great, but on the 
 thousands of its humble worshipers who have here found that 
 comfort and solace promised to all who are heavy laden, who 
 seek gospel relief in the proper spirit. 
 
 Trinity Church saw Utica cradled. We grew up around 
 this church. Here on Broad Street were the culture, refine- 
 ment and wealth of the early settlers located. A change has 
 come over us. The wealth and fashion of Utica, like other 
 cities, have taken themselves to the hills, they are moving up 
 on higher ground, and business and manufacturing establish- 
 ments are encroaching on old Trinity's parish. We all hope 
 that in the march of progress in this city, Trinity will keep 
 abreast of the times, and that she, too, will go to the hill and 
 seek a larger vineyard and build a church worthy of her noble 
 record. As she was with us in the beginning, we all hope she 
 will continue to shower her blessings upon us "till time shall 
 be no more." 
 
 For The Oneida County Historical Society. 
 
 MR. THOMAS R. PROCTOR. 
 
 "I am reminded that but for an accidental lack of courtesy 
 I should doubtless be one of you at this time," said Mr. Proc- 
 tor. "Many years ago, when I came here as a stranger, I met 
 one or two families who attended this church, but no word of 
 encouragement came from them, and so with my family I 
 w T ent to another church, where I was met with the usual per- 
 functory reception of a sexton, and was shown to a pew — one 
 of the Doorest — and I have been in the same location ever 
 
20 One Hundred Years of 
 
 since. There has been one great improvement inaugurated 
 in most of our churches since those days. Prominent young 
 men of the congregation now act as ushers, and meet strang- 
 ers with a pleasant smile, and show them, to the best seats at 
 their disposal. There is nothing so gratifying to a stranger's 
 heart as a cordial welcome in the house of God. 
 
 But I am here as the representative of the Oneida Historical 
 Society. When I received the courteous note of your rector 
 inviting me to* be present I wondered what possible connec- 
 tion could there be between Trinity Church and the Oneida 
 Historical Society, and then I remembered that the historical 
 society was founded by Horatio Seymour, Charles W. Hutch- 
 inson and others of Trinity Church, and some other promi- 
 nent citizens. Gov. Seymour was our first president, and re- 
 mained in office during his life; he was at the same time the 
 senior warden of Trinity Church. So we are an off-shoot of 
 old Trinity, or perhaps we may be better considered a lay mis- 
 sion. As such it seems proper that we should give a brief ac- 
 count of our stewardship. 
 
 The society was founded in 1876, and has prospered ever 
 since. It was the means — under the guiding hand of John 
 F. Seymour, whom many of you will remember as a most 
 courteous and kindly gentleman — of the building of the monu- 
 ment on the battle field of Oriskany, which stands to com- 
 memorate a most important battle of the revolution. It 
 has assisted in the building of other monuments. It has col- 
 lected a library of several thousand volumes, many of them 
 relating to the early history of this vicinity, which is always 
 open for the use of students, historians and others who take an 
 interest in such matters. It has been honored by statesmen, 
 historians, scientists and other distinguished men, who have 
 delivered addresses and lectures in its hall — and these have 
 been reported in the press of this city and State. So these ad- 
 dresses and lectures have been read by thousands of people. 
 
THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 21 
 
 It has in its new building- many articles of historic interest, 
 portraits, manuscripts, and the like. It has in many instances 
 assumed the care of complete church records and other docu- 
 ments relating to the early history of this vicinity. 
 
 During the past year there have been collected the battle 
 flags of the Oneida County regiments, carried during the late 
 war, and they have been deposited in a large case provided for 
 that purpose. Here they will remain to speak to the present 
 and future generations of the valor and patriotism of Oneida's 
 sons. This will give you some idea of the work done by the 
 Oneida Historical Society. It hopes and expects to continue 
 its vigorous policy, and that it will commend itself to the good 
 will and support of the people of Central New York. To-day 
 we join with other associations and institutions, and in fact 
 with all the people, in wishing that only good things may 
 come to Trinity Church." , 
 
 The Early History of the Church in the Lower Mohawk A* alley. 
 
 BY THE REV. J. PHILIP B. PENDLETON, D. D., RECTOR, ST. GEORGE'S 
 CHURCH, SCHENECTADY, N. Y. 
 
 The invitation of my reverend brother, the Rector of this 
 Parish, to be present at this centennial anniversary, and to 
 read a paper on "The Early History of the Church in the Mo- 
 hawk Valley," was accompanied, I am frank enough to say, 
 by a suggestion of the appropriateness of such action on my 
 part, rather than by an allusion to any special qualifications 
 that I might possess for the undertaking. "As you represent," 
 he writes, "the oldest parish in the valley at the Eastern end, 
 and Trinity, Utica, the oldest at the Western end, I thought 
 it most appropriate to ask you to give such a paper at that 
 time." 
 
 Regarding, therefore, both my hearers and myself on this 
 occasion as victims of propriety, and before proceding to the 
 more general considerations of our subject, let me venture 
 
22 One Hundred Years of 
 
 to strengthen this plea of appropriateness by one or two his- 
 torical reminiscences. From these, it will appear, I trust, 
 peculiarly proper that the Rector of St. George's Church, 
 Schenectady, should be here to-day to extend to Trinity 
 Church, Utica, his hearty congratulations on the successful 
 completion of its first century of corporate life, not only on 
 the ground of geographical and chronological relationships, 
 but also on account of personal influences and associations 
 that have united these two parishes during this period, in a 
 common work for the Divine Master. It may, perhaps, sur- 
 prise some of you to hear me say, that St. George's, Schenec- 
 tady, has been a potent factor in the establishment and devel- 
 opment of this venerable parish, and perchance, you wonder 
 on what grounds I feel authorized to make this statement. I 
 will endeavor to explain. 
 
 In October, 1796, a little more than two years previous to 
 the first visit of the Rev. Philander Chase to Utica, the Con- 
 vention of the Diocese of New York (which then of course in- 
 cluded the whole State), passed a Canon, from which we quote 
 as follows : 
 
 "It is hereby ordained and directed that a committee, con- 
 sisting of three clergymen and three laymen, of which the 
 Bishop of this Church, for the time being, shall be chairman, 
 shall be elected at each annual Convention, and shall continue 
 in office until their successors shall have been appointed. They 
 shall be styled The Committee of the Protestant Episcopal 
 Church for the Propagation of the Gospel in the State of New 
 York/ and shall have power to dispose of all such moneys as 
 now are, or hereafter shall be, contributed for the purpose 
 aforesaid, in such way as they may judge most expedient, or 
 according to such directions as may hereafter be given them 
 by the Convention." 
 
 In accordance with the provisions of this Canon, a commit- 
 tee was immediately appointed, and funds were collected in 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 23 
 
 the congregations of the Church throughout the State. The 
 first general itinerant missionary that was appointed under this 
 Canon was the Rev. Robert G. Wetmore, who spent portions 
 of 1797 and 1798 in visiting the remote and unsettled parts of 
 the State, and in supplying services for vacant parishes. Mr. 
 Wetmore's labors were arduous and exacting. He travelled 
 about 2,400 miles, performed divine service and preached 107 
 times, baptized 47 adults, and 365 infants, and distributed many 
 copies of the Book of Common Prayer, as being in his opinion 
 a most effective missionary agent. In the discharge of his 
 duties, he had occasion frequently to confer with the Rev. 
 Thomas Hillison, the rector of S. Peter's, Albany, and while 
 there often came in contact with Mr. Philander Chase, a Can- 
 didate for Holy Orders, who was pursuing his studies under 
 the direction of the Rector of S. Peter's. Mr. Wetmore's en- 
 thusiasm was contagious and when the state of his health 
 prevented him from undergoing for a second year the fatigues 
 incident to the itinerant work, the Rev. Mr. Chase volunteered 
 to take his place, and was appointed by the committee as its 
 second missionary. He was ordered deacon on May 10th, 
 1798, in S. George's Chapel, New York City, by the Rt. Rev. 
 Samuel Provoost, and the Rev. Mr. Wetmore was advanced, 
 at the same time, to the priesthood. The latter clergyman had 
 spent considerable time during the preceding year in the 
 neighborhood of Utica, officiating for several months at Paris, 
 and he was strongly impressed with the advisability of begin- 
 ning stated services at Utica. 
 
 He had evidently imparted his conviction to the new Mis- 
 sionary, for we find in Bishop Chase's "Reminiscences" about 
 this time, the following record of a visit that he paid to Mr. 
 Wetmore, who had then become settled at Schenectady — "re- 
 turning to Albany, and taking sweet counsel with the worthy 
 Mr. Wetmore at Schenectady, the writer set his face towards 
 Utica." 
 
24 One Hundred Years of 
 
 May we not, therefore, very properly claim a share in the 
 initiation of the movement which resulted in the establishment 
 of Trinity, Utica? Not contented, however, with this early in- 
 fluence, S. George's has been instrumental on several other oc- 
 casions in furnishing the men to carry on the work of God in 
 this parish. Of the eighty-nine years of her history covered 
 by permanent rectors, twenty-seven years, or nearly one third 
 of the whole period, have been occupied by the supplies from 
 S. George's. 
 
 After a rectorate of fifteen years in Schenectady, the Rev. 
 Pierre Alexis Proal came to Utica, and for over twenty years 
 guided the affairs of Trinity parish with rare sagacity, untiring 
 energy and intense spirituality, and for a period of seven years, 
 a son of S. George's by Baptism, Confirmation and Ordination, 
 the reverend brother who is to succeed me on this occasion 
 with an address, the immediate predecessor of the present Rec- 
 tor, discharged the duties of the rectorship with unfailing cour- 
 age and incessant devotion. And since writing the above, I 
 learn that the present Rector of Trinity, while an under- 
 graduate in Union College, was a member of S. George's 
 Parish, and a teacher in the Sunday School, and speaks of 
 Schenectady as his ''second home." 
 
 With such a record, have I not substantiated my claim, and 
 demonstrated to your satisfaction the peculiar appropriateness 
 of the presence on this occasion of the Rector of S. George's, 
 Schenectady. 
 
 To return, however, from this digression, let me offer a 
 word or two of explanation, as to the method and scope of 
 the treatment of the subject that has been adopted by the 
 writer on the present occasion. 
 
 The field is so extensive, the accumulation of material is so 
 vast, the facts to be noted are so interesting, and the fascina- 
 tion of the subject is so engrossing, that he has experienced 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 25 
 
 considerable difficulty in determining where to begin and 
 where to end, what to narrate and what to omit. 
 
 Should any one be disposed, therefore, to criticize the length 
 of this sketch, let me volunteer the trite remark that "If I had 
 had more time I would have made it shorter;" should any of 
 my brethren be inclined, on the other hand, to think that they 
 have been slighted, let me suggest that on this occasion at 
 least, "age comes before beauty," and that unless a parish can 
 trace the initiatory movement of its existence to a period prior 
 to the beginning of the present century, it has been purposely, 
 though in some instances very reluctantly, excluded from our 
 narrative. 
 
 The Jesuit Mission in the Mohawk Valley. 
 
 In this locality and in view of some quite recent publications 
 which add considerable interest to the early efforts of the 
 French Missionaries among the Indians of the Five Nations, 
 I have thought that it might be interesting, before passing on 
 to the history of our own Communion, to allude briefly to the 
 labors of that noble band of Christian heroes who, "Despising 
 ease, comfort, life and every attachment which nature renders 
 dear to man, endured captivity, suffering and mutilation,' that 
 they might preach among the heathen 'the unsearchable rich- 
 es of Christ.' " 
 
 It is somewhat of a coincidence, that the first written de- 
 scription of the Mohawk Valley, occurs in a letter of Arendt 
 Van Curler, a resident of the colony at Rensselaerwyck (Al- 
 bany), and the future founder of Schenectady, to the Patroon, 
 Kilian Van Rensselaer, of Amsterdam, Holland, under date of 
 June 1 6th, 1643. The contrast of its rich and varied scenery, 
 to the monotonous and barren sand plains which he had tra- 
 versed in his journey thither from Beverwyck, made an in- 
 delible impression upon his mind, and induces us to place him 
 
26 One Hundred Years of 
 
 at the head of that long list of writers who, whether in prose 
 or poetry, have descanted on the natural beauties of this far 
 famed valley. 
 
 "Within half a day's journey from the Colonic," he writes, 
 "lies the most beautiful land on the Mohawk River that eye 
 ever saw." The immediate cause of Van Curler's journey was 
 for the purpose of visiting the lower castle of the Iroquois, and 
 of obtaining the release of several Frenchmen whom the war- 
 like Mohawks had recently taken prisoners. Among these was 
 the saintly Isaac Jogues, learned Jesuit Missionary, "One of 
 the first to carry the cross into Michigan, and now the first 
 to bear it through the villages of the Mohawks." 
 
 To save these unfortunate men, Van Curler, in company 
 with two friends, had set out from the colony of Beverwyck, 
 provided with suitable presents, and upon: his arrival at the 
 Indian castle, called together the various Mohawk chiefs, and 
 demanded the release of their captives, offering at the same 
 time for their ransom, a generous gift of money, which to their 
 honor be it recorded, the Dutch settlers of the Colonie, "for- 
 getful of all differences of creed, and actuated by the holy im- 
 pulses of the Gospel, had generously subscribed to purchase 
 the freedom of their Christian brethren." 
 
 The savages, however, were not to be moved, either by ap- 
 peals to ancient friendship, or by the influence of the gifts. 
 All that Van Curler could accomplish was the promise, on 
 the part of the Mohawks, that they would spare the lives of 
 their prisoners and restore them at some future time to their 
 ■ country. Meanwhile war-parties were continually going out 
 against the French and Indians of Canada. If they were de- 
 feated and slain, Father Jogues was threatened with death at 
 the stake; and if they came back, as they usually did, with 
 booty and captives, he was obliged to see his countrymen and 
 their Indian friends mangled, burned, and devoured, for it is 
 an undeniable fact that the Mohawks were cannibals. Jogues 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 27 
 
 went about from town to town ministering to the Christian 
 prisoners, and converting and baptizing the heathen. He had 
 baptized up to the time of his escape, about seventy of the 
 children of the Mohawks and their neighbors, and began to 
 regard his captivity as a Providential interposition for the sav- 
 ing of souls. So conscientious was he with regard to this sub- 
 ject, that when on the occasion of his visit to the settlement 
 of Fort Orange (Albany), he was offered by Van Curler an 
 opportunity to escape from his Indian captors, he greatly as- 
 tonished that worthy Dutchman by asking for a night to con- 
 sider the matter and to take counsel of God in prayer. And 
 when he finally decided to accept the kind offer, his spirit was 
 sorely troubled, as to whether or not he was justified in such 
 action. 
 
 After experiencing various painful vicissitudes, he reached 
 his home in France on January 5th, 1644, but after a short 
 period of recuperation, during which he was the recipient of 
 royal honors from the Queen, the yearning for his work 
 among the Indians overpowered him, and in the spring of that 
 same year he returned to> Canada. After remaining in Mon- 
 treal for two years, he set out again to visit the land and the 
 people of the Iroquois. His errand was partly political, part- 
 ly religious. While he was the bearer of gifts and messages 
 from the French governor, he was also prepared to establish 
 a new mission, designated in advance with a prophetic name, 
 ''The Mission of the Martyrs." It was shortly after this, on 
 October 18th, 1646, that he obtained the crown of martyrdom. 
 "Thus died Isaac Jogues," writes Francis Parkman, in his 
 history of "The Jesuits in North America/' "one of the purest 
 examples of Roman Catholic virtue which this Western con- 
 tinent has seen." 
 
 In the course of the following year Father Bressani, another 
 Jesuit Missionary, fell into the hands of the Iroquois, and en- 
 dured every variety of torture that the cruel malice of his 
 
2 8 One Hundred Years of 
 
 captors could devise, until he also was rescued from their 
 hands by the payment of a generous ransom, on the part of 
 the Dutch settlers at Fort Orange. The mission to the Iro- 
 quois was continued by the Jesuit Missionaries Le Moyne, 
 Garmier, Fremin, Bruyas and others, until in 1684 Jaegues de 
 Lamberville, the last Jesuit teacher among them departed for 
 Canada amid the lamentations of the Onondagas, who escorted 
 him to his northern home, and in a few generations all ves- 
 tiges of the work of these devoted men had apparently van- 
 ished from the Mohawk Valley. 
 
 First Services in New York. 
 
 In the year 1664, the members of our American Church, 
 which was then known as ''The Church of England in Ameri- 
 ca," first held stated religious services in the City of New York, 
 in the Dutch Chapel that had been erected in the fort which 
 stood near the Battery. With the exception of the Chaplains 
 to this fort, and one peculiar representative of the ministry 
 who had made his appearance in Albany, in 1674, there seems, 
 in the language of an early writer to have been "no face of the 
 Church of England in the Colony of New York," so far as 
 its clergy were concerned, until the year 1697, when the Rev. 
 William Vesey was ordained by the Bishop of London, and 
 settled over the parish of Trinity, New York, the charter of 
 which had been signed at the Fort by Governor Fletcher, on 
 May 6th, 1697. 
 
 Schenectady in 1695. 
 
 The first clergyman of the Church of England to visit the 
 Mohawk Valley, of whose visit we have any record, was the 
 Rev. John Miller, who was Chaplain to the fort at New York 
 City from 1692- 1695. He visited all the up-river posts, includ- 
 ing Schenectady, and returned to England in this latter year. 
 His manuscript "Description of the Province and City of New 
 York, with plans of the city and several forts as they existed 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 29 
 
 in the year 1695," is in the British Museum. His map of 
 Schenectady is one of the earliest extant after the burning of 
 the town in 1690, by the French and Indians from Canada. 
 
 After giving a description of Albany, he thus refers to 
 Schenectady, ''Dependent on this city (Albany), and about 
 twenty miles northward from it, is the Fort of Scanectade 
 quadrangular with a treble stockado, with a new block house 
 at every angle, and in each block house two great guns." At 
 this time, the garrison at Schenectady consisted of a detach- 
 ment of about thirty soldiers from the forces at Albany. These 
 occupied the block houses, and there were besides these with- 
 in the stockade, twenty-eight houses of the settlers, and two 
 "long houses" of the Mohawk Indians. At this time there 
 was no minister in the Dutch Church, and it is quite probable 
 that on the occasion of this visit, the Rev. Mr. Miller held the 
 first services of the Church of England in Schenectady in 
 "the block-house known as the Church." 
 
 Mr. Miller's "Description" is dedicated "To the Rt. Rev. 
 Father in God, Henry, Lord Bishop of London," and is ex- 
 ceedingly valuable for the light which it throws upon the con- 
 dition of the Colony at this time, as well as for the elaborate 
 suggestions which he offered for the establishment of an 
 American Episcopate. In striking contrast to the energy and 
 zeal which had been displayed by the French in their labors 
 to convert the Iroquois, he places before us the indifference 
 and neglect of the English government. 
 
 After treating of various other evils which existed in the 
 province he thus refers to this subject: "The next thing in this 
 province blameable is the heathenism of the natural Indians 
 who here, in the very heart of a Christian country, practice 
 their barbarous and devilish customs and modes ol worship, 
 notwithstanding it is now sixty years and more since Chris- 
 tians first inhabited this country, and thirty years since the 
 English were possessed thereof * * * especially when the 
 
30 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Indians are so inclinable to receive the Christian faith, as they 
 have made appear they are, both by that considerable number 
 of the Mohawks whom Dr. Dellius has converted (though by a 
 method not so< exact and prevalent as might be used), and 
 those Oneidas converted to Popery by the Jesuit Millet, much 
 to the advantage of the French," one of the Mohawks, indeed, 
 who had migrated to Canada having recently said "that he 
 had lived long among the English, but they had never all that 
 while had so much love for him as to instruct him in the con- 
 cerns of his soul, and show him; the way of salvation, which 
 the French had done upon their first acquaintance with him." 
 
 As a remedy for the evils which he had enumerated, he 
 offers the following suggestion, "The great, most proper, and 
 as I conceive effectual, means to remedy and prevent all the 
 disorders I have already mentioned, and promote the settle- 
 ment and improvement of religion and unity, both among the 
 English subjects that are already Christians, and the Indians 
 supposed to be made so>, is that his Majesty will graciously 
 please to send over a Bishop to the province of New York." 
 Among other details of this suggestion, in order to provide 
 for his support, he recommends that the Bishop should be re- 
 garded as a suffragan of the Bishop of London, and that he 
 should have affixed to- his ecclesiastical office, that of the 
 Governor of the Province. 
 
 Mr. Miller thus places himself on record as among the first 
 of that long list of special pleaders for an American Episcopate, 
 whose earnest pleas were not to be granted by the officials of 
 Church and State, until nearly a century had elapsed. 
 
 About six years after Mr. Miller's return to England, there 
 was organized in London, largely through the efforts and rep- 
 resentations of the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bray, who had been ap- 
 pointed as Ecclesiastical Commissary for Maryland, by the 
 Bishop of London, in 1696, a society which was destined, un- 
 der Almighty God, to exert a powerful and permanent influ- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 31 
 
 ence upon the religious history of the North American Colo- 
 nies, and of this Mohawk Valley in particular. I refer to the 
 "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," 
 more familiarly known to us as "The S. P. G." 
 
 At a missionary meeting in London, in 1878, in connection 
 with the assembling of the Bishops of the Anglican Commun- 
 ion at the Lambeth Conference, Bishop Littlejohn, of Long 
 Island, could truthfully say, without any exaggeration, that 
 "Per nearly the whole of the eighteenth century this Society 
 •furnished) the only point of contact, the only bond of sym- 
 pathy, between the Church of England and her children scat- 
 tered over the waste places of the New Worid. The Church 
 herself, as all of us now remember with sorrow, was not only 
 indifferent to their wants, but, under a malign State influence, 
 was positively hostile to the adoption of all practical measures 
 calculated to meet them." As another undesigned co-inci- 
 dence in connection with this present anniversary, it may be 
 stated that the charter of this venerable Society bears the date 
 of June idth, 1701. 
 
 Church Services in Schenectady. 
 
 In the Rev. John Miller's "Description of the Province and 
 City of New York," to which we have previously referred, he 
 recommends that a Chaplain should be allowed "to the sol- 
 diers at Albany in particular (to* be paid out of the advance of 
 their pay), who are lately gone over, and to be sometimes 
 changed with him at New York," and in 1708 we find that the 
 Rev. Thomas Barclay occupied that position. In 1709 he was 
 appointed a Missionary of the S. P. G., and officiated at Schen- 
 ectady, and occasionally for the Mohawk Indians, at their set- 
 tlement at Fort Hunter. 
 
 In a letter to the Secretary of the Society for the Propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel, under date of September 26th, 1710, he 
 thus refers to his work at Schenectady: 
 
3 2 One Hundred Years of 
 
 "At Schenectady, I preach once a month, where there is a 
 garrison of forty soldiers, besides about sixteen English, and 
 about one hundred Dutch families; they are all of them my 
 constant hearers. I have this summer got an English school 
 erected amongst them,, and in a short time I hope their chil- 
 dren will be fit for catechising. 
 
 Schenectady is a village situated on a pleasant river twenty 
 English miles above Albany, and the first castle of the Indians 
 is twenty-four miles above Schenectady. 
 
 In this village there has been no Dutch minister these five 
 years, and there is no probability of any being - settled among 
 them. There is a convenient and well-built Church which 
 they freely give me the use of. I have taken pains to show 
 them the agreement of the articles of our Church with theirs, I 
 hope in some time to bring them not only to be constant hear- 
 ers, but communicants." 
 
 Of the Rev. Barnardus Freeman, who had served the Dutch 
 Congregation in Schenectady from 1700- 1705, he thus writes: 
 "This Mr. Freeman five years ago was minister at Schenec- 
 tady, and converted several of the Indians; he has acquired 
 more skill in their language than any Dutch minister that has 
 been ui ihis country, and a great part of our liturgy 
 he has translated into the Indian tongue, m particular morn- 
 ing and evening prayer, the litany, the cieed of S. Athanasins, 
 &c, besides several places of the Old and New Testament 
 Fie told me when he read to them the litany, they were mighc- 
 ily affected with it. He is a gentleman of a good, temper, and 
 well affected to our Church, and if there were a Bishop in this 
 part of the world, would be persuaded to take Episcopal or- 
 dination. I often entreat him to go over to England, but he 
 is afraid of the danger of the voyage, and his wife will not con- 
 sent to live among the Indians; he has promised to give me 
 his manuscripts, and what he has done into the Indian 
 tongue." These manuscripts appear to have been presented 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 33 
 
 to the Society, and were given to their missionary, the Rev. 
 William Andrews, who was sent out in 17 12, and were by him 
 printed in New York in 1714. The Rev. Mr. Barclay must 
 have been very popular among- the residents of Schenectady, 
 for towards the erection of the first edifice of S. Peter's, Al- 
 bany, in 1 7 16, he informs the Society that "every inhabitant of 
 Schenectady gave something, one very poor man excepted." 
 
 Stated services were undoubtedly continued in Schenectady 
 by the two immediate successors of the Rev. Thomas Bar- 
 clay, at S. Peter's, Albany, the Rev. John Miln, 1728-1737, 
 and the Rev. Henry Barclay, 1737- 1746, but there does not 
 appear to be any mention on the records of the parish of their 
 visits or acts. The former of the two was transferred to New 
 Jersey, and the latter became rector of Trinity Church, New 
 York City. In an historical sermon preached by my pre- 
 decessor in the Rectorship of S. George's, the Rev. William 
 Payne, D. D., he thus describes the parish at this time: "In 
 1748 the Rev. John Ogilvie came to Albany as rector of S. 
 Peter's. And the same year there arrived in Schenectady a 
 layman, who, from the love he bore to the principles and 
 usages of the English Church, and the zeal he showed in pro- 
 moting them, has been called the father of this parish. I refer 
 to Mr. John W. Brown, whose memory is appropriately pre- 
 served by a tablet on these walls. He is said to have come 
 from London, and was only twenty-one years old at the time 
 of his arrival here. Through a long life, till the day of his 
 death at the age of eighty-seven, he was the steady friend, 
 and unwavering supporter of this Church. The earliest 
 baptism, by an Episcopal minister on our parish register is 
 that of a daughter of Mr. Brown, in 1754, by the Rev. Mr. 
 Ogilvie." In this connection, it is an interesting fact to note, 
 that with the exception of an interval of ten years, a period of 
 one hundred and fifty years of the parochial history of S. 
 George's is covered by the lives of two of its parishioners. Mr. 
 
34 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Brown was identified with the interests of the parish from 
 1748-18 14. Mr. Abrani A. Van Vorst, at present one of the 
 Wardens of the parish, came to Schenectady in 1824, was 
 elected a member of the Vestry in 1836, and has served con- 
 tinuously in that body ever since. 
 
 It was during the ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Ogilvie, in 
 1759, that the erection of the present Church edifice seems to 
 have been undertaken, but it was not fully completed for 
 several years. Among other items of disbursement, the parish 
 records contain the following entry in the above year: "To 
 Richard Oldrich and Horsford, for digging the foundation of 
 the Church, £4 3s. gd." Various entries for "laying up stone/' 
 "siding," and "squaring timber," wages for laborers, &c, ap- 
 pear in the treasurer's book from this date onward. The car- 
 pentry work of the Church was done under the superintend- 
 ence of Samuel Fuller, who was subsequently the builder of 
 Johnson Hall, the home of Sir William Johnson, at Johns- 
 town. He was master of the King's artificers, and came to 
 Schenectady from Needham, Mass., with General Abercrom- 
 bie's army. 
 
 Among the contributors towards the building appear the 
 names of Sir Harry Moore, Governor of New York; William 
 Penn, Governor of Pennsylvania; Governor Franklin of New 
 Jersey; William Alexander, Earl of Sterling; and Sir William 
 Johnson, General Superintendent of Indian Affairs in North 
 America. The Rev. Henry Barclay, at this time rector of 
 Trinity, New York, continued to evince an interest in the 
 prosperity of the parish to which he had ministered while rec- 
 tor of S. Peter's, Albany, and collected about £61 from some 
 of his New York friends. It is a somewhat curious fact that 
 the Church was not consecrated until nearly one hundred 
 years later, by Bishop Horatio Potter, in 1859. 
 
 At the time of its erection, there was of course no Bishop 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 35 
 
 in America to perform such an office, and later on this defect 
 seems to have been overlooked. 
 
 The present edifice lias, however, enjoyed, as a sort of com- 
 pensation for this omission, the unique privilege of having had 
 within its walls, at one time or another, every Bishop of our 
 Communion who has been located in the State of New York, 
 except your own reverend and beloved Diocesan, the Bishop 
 of Central New York, and the present Bishop of Western New 
 York, and we hope soon, to be able to report that these are 
 no longer exceptions to the general rule. The Rev. Thomas 
 Brown, who succeeded the Rev. Mr. Ogilvie at S. Peter's, Al- 
 bany, and the Rev. Harvy Minro who succeeded him, minis- 
 tered to the parish frequently from 1 764- 1 770. In this latter 
 year, on the recommendation of Sir William Johnson and the 
 Rev. Dr. Samuel Auchmuty, Rector of Trinity Church, New 
 York, die Society for the Propagation of Gospel, appointed 
 the Rev. William Andrews as their missionary at Schenectady. 
 He was a native of Great Britain, but had resided for some 
 years in America. He returned home and was ordained by 
 the Bishop of London. There is in the possession of the rec- 
 tor of S. George's, a quaint old vestry bond, duly executed on 
 December 7th, 1769, wherein the vestry of the parish are "held 
 and firmly bound unto William Andrews, in the sum of sixty 
 pounds, current money of New York, * * * to be paid in 
 four quarterly payments after he became residentiary clergy- 
 man in the Town of Schenectady." Mr. Andrews opened a 
 Latin school in 1771, but the labor attendant on this and his 
 parochial duties affected his health, and in 1773 he resigned 
 his charge and removed to Williamsburg, Va. 
 
 A glimpse of the condition of the parish at this time is ob- 
 tained from a letter written by the Wardens to the Rev. Dr. 
 Burton, Secretary of the S. P. G. They complain of the diffi- 
 culty of pledging a fixed salary for their rector, owing as they 
 say, "To the absence of many of the congregation (which must 
 
36 One Hundred Years of 
 
 make the contributions casual and uncertain), who are Indian 
 traders over the great lakes, and do not always return within 
 the year." 
 
 Mr. Andrews was succeeded by the Rev. John Doty, a 
 native of Westchester, and an alumnus of King's (now Colum- 
 bia) College. He was the missionary to S. George's from 
 1774-1777. It was now the eve of the Revolution, and like 
 many of his brethren in the ministry, he suffered between a 
 sense of duty and the pressure of the times. He did not con- 
 sider that his ordination vows allowed him to disuse the litur- 
 gy, with the Prayer for the King and the royal family. After 
 having been made twice a prisoner, "he found it necessary 
 to retire with his family to Canada, and divine service was 
 suspended in the Church during the remainder of the war. 
 When the independence of the Colonies was established, and 
 peace declared in 1782, the members of the congregation 
 which Mr. Doty had felt compelled to abandon, were almost 
 entirely scattered. 
 
 From 1 785- 1 792 the names of the Rev. Thomas Ellison, 
 rector of S. Peter's Albany, the Rev. George Ogilvie, of New 
 Brunswick, N. J., the Rev. Thomas F. Oliver, of the united 
 churches at Johnstown and Fort Hunter, and the Rev. Mr. 
 Barber, appear on the parish register. In 1790 the parish 
 was admitted into union with the Convention of the Protest- 
 ant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New York. At the 
 Convention held in October, 1792, Bishop Provoost states that 
 during the year he had ordained, with four others, Mr. Ammi 
 Rogers, who was now settled in the State, and at the same 
 Convention the Rev. Mr. Rogers from Schenectady appeared 
 and took his seat. Mr. Rogers continued his ministrations 
 in the parish from July, 1792 to March, 1795. In 1793 and 
 1794 he appears on the Convention Journal as rector of S. 
 George's, Schenectady, and Christ Church, Ballston. In 1796 
 he appears as representing only Christ Church, Ballston. In 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 37 
 
 1798 the Rev. Robert G. Wetmore, of whom we have spoken 
 in the early part of this paper, became rector, in connection 
 with Christ Church, Duanesburgh, and from this time the 
 affairs of the parish were conducted with increasing success. 
 Mr. Wetmore was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Pro- 
 voost on May 10th, 1798, at the same time that the Rev. Phil- 
 ander Chase was ordained deacon. He resigned in 1801, and 
 from this date to 1805, when the Rev. Cyrus Stebbins became 
 rector, stated services were maintained by visiting clergymen, 
 among whom we find the name of Ammi Rogers, Samuel 
 Lilly, Davenport Phelps, Jonathan Judd and Gamaliel 
 Thatcher. The Committee for propagating the gospel in the 
 State of New York reports to the Convention of 1804, that 
 this latter clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Thatcher, organized a 
 Church at Utica, by the name of Trinity Church, in August of 
 that year. The Rev. Mr. Stebbins resigned in 1819, and re- 
 moved to Hudson, N. Y. The parish register during his rec- 
 torship, contains the baptism, as an adult, of Thomas Church 
 Brownell, the future Bishop of Connecticut. Bishop Brownell 
 was formerly a Presbyterian. He was Professor of Logic and 
 Belles-Letters, and latter on, of Rhetoric and Chemistry, in 
 Union College. 
 
 Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island, in his "Reminiscences" thus 
 refers to this period of his Bishop's earlier life: "His wife used 
 to tell me how they would start off together on Sunday morn- 
 ings, and walk on until they reached a certain corner, where 
 they would separate, and he go one way to the Presbyterian 
 Church, while she wended her solitary walk to the Episcopal. 
 It was not long, however, before he followed in her footsteps, 
 as any one might have predicted who knew Mrs. Brownell — a 
 most attractive and winning woman, and as full of quaint and 
 quiet humor as she was of goodness." 
 
 His promotion in the Church was somewhat meteoric in re- 
 ference to its rapidity, although not in the permanency of its 
 
38 One Hundred Years of 
 
 influence, for his light shone for forty-six years in the Epis- 
 copate of Connecticut. Baptized in 1813, ordained deacon on 
 April nth, 1816, advanced to the priesthood on August 4th of 
 that same year, he was consecrated Bishop of Connecticut on 
 October 27th, 1819. When Bishop Jarvis, his immediate pre- 
 decessor in the Diocese of Connecticut died, Bishop Brownell 
 had not yet been baptized. 
 
 For a short time after Dr. Stebbins' resignation the services 
 were maintained by Mr. Alonzo Potter, as Lay Reader. He 
 was then an Instructor in Union College, and afterwards the 
 Bishop of Pennsylvania. 
 
 On the minutes of the Vestry, there appears at this time a 
 resolution "fixing the salary to be paid to Mr. Alonzo Potter 
 at two hundred and fifty dollars per annum while he reads in 
 the desk, and five hundred dollars per annum when he shall 
 be in Holy Orders to preach in the Church for the congrega- 
 tion." 
 
 In 1 82 1, the Rev. P. Alexis Proal, of Johnstown, became 
 rector, and served most efficiently in that capacity until May, 
 1836, when he became rector of Trinity, Utica. He was suc- 
 ceeded in turn by the Rev. Albert Smedes, Rev. W. H. Wal- 
 ter, and the Rev. John Williams, at present the learned and 
 venerable Bishop of Connecticut, and Primus of the Ameri- 
 can Church. S. George's was really the only parish of Bishop 
 Williams, as he left Schenectady in 1848 to accept the Presi- 
 dency of Trinity College, from which position he was called 
 to be the Assistant Bishop of Connecticut. 
 
 "Old S. George's" has been a veritable training school of 
 the clergy, no less than seven Bishops and sixty-five other 
 clergymen having been connected with it, in one way or an- 
 other, since its organization. Among the former we note the 
 names of Thomas C. Brownell, Alonzo Potter, John Williams, 
 Abram N. Littlejohn, George Upfold, Henry C. Potter and 
 Joseph H. Johnson. The Rev. William Payne took charge of 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 39 
 
 the parish in 1848, and after a long and useful rectorate of 
 thirty-six years, became Rector-emeritus in 1884, when the 
 present rector was called from S. Luke's Church, Scranton, 
 Pa. Eh - . Payne resided in the parish until his death, which 
 took place on March 19th, 1891. Thus ended a mutual rela- 
 tionship of forty-two years, honorable alike to both priest and 
 people. 
 
 The Mohawk Mission. 
 
 As we have already observed in the earlier pages of this ar- 
 ticle, the labors of the Jesuits among the Iroquois of the Mo- 
 hawk Valley ceased in 1684. From that year to the beginning of 
 the eighteenth century, spasmodic efforts to Christianize the 
 Mohawks were undertaken by individual Dutch ministers, but 
 as the Rev. Mr. Miller pointed out to the Bishop of London in 
 1695, as previously quoted, nothing had been done up to that 
 time on the part of the Church of England. 
 
 Speaking in the name of the rest of the Sachems of the 
 "Praying Indians" of Canada, one of their chiefs thus ad- 
 dressed the Government Commissioners at Albany, in 1700: 
 
 "We are now come to trade and not to speak of religion; 
 only thus much I must say, all the while I was here before I 
 went to Canada, I never heard anything talked of religion, or 
 the least mention made of converting us to the Christian faith; 
 and we shall be glad to hear if at last you are so piously in- 
 clined to take some pains to instruct your Indians in the 
 Christian Religion." 
 
 Moved by this and other representations received from the 
 Earl of Bellemont (Governor of New York), the "Commis- 
 sioners of Trade and Plantations" addressed the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury and Queen Anne on this subject, and in 1703, an 
 order in Council was passed, referring the matter of appoint- 
 ing two missionaries to dwell among the Indians, to Archbish- 
 op Tenison. 
 
4° One Hundred Years of 
 
 In the preceding year, the Rev. John Taibot, who in com- 
 pany with the Rev. George Keith (the first missionary of the 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel), had visited the 
 Indians at Albany, reported that "even the Indians them- 
 selves have promised obedience to the faith," and that "they 
 were glad to hear that the sun shined in England again since 
 King William's death." They rejoiced that they had now "a 
 squaw sachem" or "woman king," but hoped she would "be a 
 good mother, and send them some to teach them, religion, and 
 establish traffic amongst them." It was not however, until 
 1704 that the Rev. Thoroughgood Moor, "with a firm courage 
 and resolution to answer the excellent designs of the Society" 
 undertook the Mission. Soon after Mr. Moor's arrival in Al- 
 bany two Indians came to see him, one of whom spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 "Father we are come to express our joy at your safe arrival 
 and that you have escapt the dangers of a dreadful sea, which 
 you have crost, I hear, to instruct us in religion. It only 
 grieves us that you are come in time of war, when it is uncer- 
 tain whether you will live or die with us." This latter an- 
 nouncement was not, it must be confessed, very encouraging, 
 and although Mr. Moor was from time to time courteously 
 received at their settlement, it soon became evident that his 
 mission was not going to prove very fruitful, and after waiting 
 at Albany for about a year, he finally withdrew to Burlington, 
 N. J. In 1709 the Rev. Thomas Barclay, Chaplain to the Fort 
 at Albany, was appointed a missionary of the S. P. G., with a 
 direction "to instruct the neighboring Indians." They ac- 
 cepted his ministry, and he soon had fifty adherents. Soon 
 after Mr. Barclay's appointment, four of the Iroquois sachems 
 visited England, and expressed to the Queen and other 
 prominent persons their earnest desire for resident Mission- 
 aries. In consequence of their representations, the S. P. G. on 
 April 28th, 1710, adopted a resolution "to send itinerant mis- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 41 
 
 sionaries to preach the gospel amongst the Six Nations of the 
 Indians, according to the primary intentions of the late King 
 William of glorious memory." It was further "Ordered that 
 4 copies of the Bible in quarto with the Prayer Book bound 
 handsomely in red Turkey leather be presented in the name of 
 the Society to the Sachems." 
 
 The Queen was also urged to take measures for the speedy 
 appointment of a Bishop for America. 
 
 The Sachems wrote before and after their return home to 
 remind the Society of its promise to send missionaries. "For 
 the safety and conveniency of the mission," the Queen or- 
 dered the erection of a fort, a house, and a chapel. Towards 
 the furnishing of this latter and of another, among the Onon- 
 dagas (which, however, was not built), the Queen gave among 
 other things a set of Plate for the Holy Communion, and the 
 Archbishop presented twelve large octavo Bibles, with tables 
 containing the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the Ten Com- 
 mandments. The Society also contributed "a table of their 
 seal finely painted in proper colors, to be fixed likewise in the 
 Chapel of the Mohawks." This seal represents "a ship under 
 sail, making towards a point of land; upon the prow standing 
 a minister with an open Bible in his hand; people standing 
 on the shore in a posture of expectation, and using these 
 words, Transicns AdJHVQ Nos." 
 
 The silver communion set, sent by Queen Anne for the Mo- 
 hawks, was used by them at Fort Hunter, until the time of the 
 Revolution, when it was placed in a cask and buried with some 
 other fixtures of the Chapel in the vicinity. Some time after the 
 war, it was recovered by members of the tribe who had been 
 sent back for it from the Mohawk reservation at Brantford, 
 Ontario, Canada. It is now in the possession of the Indians. 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Hooper, of Durham, Conn., to whom I 
 am under obligations for several valuable suggestions during 
 
42 One Hundred Years of 
 
 the preparation of this paper, thus writes of the duplicate set 
 sent by Queen Anne for the use of the Onondagas: "The 
 Queen Anne silver of S. Peter's, Albany, is similar to that of 
 the Mohawk's, but was intended for a Chapel of the Onon- 
 dagas, which was never built. It was kept in Albany, as S. 
 Peter's was the Indian Chapel for all other New York Indians 
 excepting the Mohawks, in trust, and is now its most valued 
 possession. While New York was a royal province, a receipt 
 for it was exacted from the Warden of the Church by each 
 Royal Governor." 
 
 Fort Hunter, containing the historic edifice known as 
 Queen Anne's Chapel, was built by residents of Schenectady. 
 The Chapel was opened by the Rev. Thomas Barclay, on Oc- 
 tober 5th, 1712, the sermon being preached from the text in 
 S. Matthew xxi. 13, "It is written, my house shall be called 
 'the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." 
 This subject was selected at the particular request of the 
 sachems, it being their desire that he should "preach against 
 the profanation of their Chapel, some being so impious as to 
 make a slaughter-house of it." The Rev. William Andrews, 
 who possessed colonial experience and a knowledge of the 
 Indian language, was selected by the Archbishop for the Mis- 
 sion, and was received with considerable satisfaction by the 
 Mohawks, in November, 171 2. The Indians built a school- 
 house, but were unwilling that their children should be taught 
 any other than their own language, "for it had been observed 
 that those who understood English or Dutch were generally 
 the worst people." With the assistance of the Rev. Barnardus 
 Freeman, formerly the Dutch minister at Schenectady, as 
 mentioned heretofore in this paper, school books and portions 
 of the Bible and the Prayer Book were provided in the Mo- 
 hawk language, and for a time there was considerable progress 
 made, Mr. Andrews baptizing fifty-one Indians within six 
 months, and having eighteen communicants. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 43 
 
 But the traders hindered the mission by "their ill practices 
 in bringing too much rum among these poor people," and "in 
 cheating them abominably in the way of traffic. " The work 
 was suspended from 1719-1727, when the Society for the Pro- 
 pagation of the Gospel appointed the Rev. John Miln, to Al- 
 bany. The Indians at Fort Hunter, who formed part of his 
 charge, received him "with much respect and civility," and he 
 found them "very well disposed to receive the gospel," some 
 having been "pretty well instructed in the grounds of Chris- 
 tianity by Mr. Andrews." 
 
 In April, 1735, Mr. Henry Barclay, son of the second mis- 
 sionary to the Indians, was appointed Catechist at Fort Hun- 
 ter. In 1738 he went to England for ordination, and soon 
 after his return to America, he reported "That there grew a 
 daily reformation of manners among the Mohawks, and an in- 
 crease of virtue proportionable to their knowledge; inasmuch 
 that they compose a regular, sober congregation of 500 Chris- 
 tian Indians, of whom 50 are very serious communicants." In 
 1745 the French nearly succeeded in closing the Mission. 
 Their Indian emissaries excited the Mohawks against the 
 English, and for a short while it looked as though their alle- 
 giance was to be transferred to the French King. Their loyal- 
 ty to the English, however, soon revived, never again to be 
 shaken. Mr. Barclay was transferred to New York in 1746, 
 but the Indian Mission was continued by a succession of able 
 clergymen, a number of whom were rectors of S. Peter's, Al- 
 bany. Rev. Messrs. John Ogilvie, J. J. Del, Thomas Brown, 
 Harry Minro and John Stuart ministered to the Mohawks 
 from 1 749- 1 778, besides lay teachers, English and native. 
 Among the latter was a sachem named Abraham, "who being 
 past war and hunting read prayers at the several Mohawk 
 Castles by turns." 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Ogilvie, in 1756, informs the S. P. G. that 
 "many of the Mohawks of both castles appear to have a se- 
 
44 One Hundred Years of 
 
 rious and habitual sense of religion. When at home they 
 regularly attend divine worship, and are frequent communi- 
 cants at the Lord's Supper; and even while out upon the hunt, 
 several of them came sixty miles to commune on Christ- 
 mas day. "In 1760 Mr. Ogilvie complains that the only lead- 
 ing man of the colony who rendered him any active assist- 
 ance in his mission was Sir William Johnson, and makes some 
 pointed references to the coldness and indifference of the home 
 authorities in contrast to the zeal and liberality of the French 
 Romanists. 
 
 It may not be out of place to refer briefly, at this point of 
 our history, to the immense influence wielded by Sir William 
 Johnson over the members of the Iroquois confederacy, and 
 to the valuable assistance which he rendered to the clergy of 
 the Church who were settled in this vicinity during his resi- 
 dence here. 
 
 He came to America and settled in the Mohawk Valley in 
 1738. He soon became known to the Indians as a friend and 
 an honest trader. His simple and masterly plan was "never 
 to cheat, lie or deceive, and never to grant what he had once 
 refused." He refused to* gain a temporary advantage by a 
 sacrifice of principle, and his word, even as a young man, be- 
 came bond and law. He was appointed by Governor Clinton 
 in 1746, "Superintendent of Indian Affairs." His personal 
 influence over the Mohawks (into which tribe he had been 
 adopted and appointed a chief), and the other tribes of the 
 Iroquois, largely decided the result of the French and English 
 war that was being waged at this time, in favor of England, 
 and kept the way open for the future growth and extension of 
 the Church of England on this continent. He also early fore- 
 saw the necesisity for the establishment of an American Epis- 
 copate, and was anxious to< secure an endowment for it. For 
 this purpose, he conveyed to the S. P. G. a gift of twenty thou- 
 sand acres of land about thirty miles from Schenectady, sub- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 45 
 
 ject to "His Majesty's grant," which does not appear to have 
 been obtained, and on December 10th, 1768, he wrote as fol- 
 lows on this subject: 
 
 "We cannot have a clergy here without an Episcopate ; and 
 this want, as it has occasioned many to embrace other per- 
 suasions, will oblige greater numbers to follow their example; 
 of which the dissenters are very sensible, and by pretended 
 fears of an Episcopal power, as well as by magnifying their 
 own numbers, and lessening ours, give it all possible opposi- 
 tion." 
 
 Sir William Johnson died in 1774, and his body was in- 
 terred under the altar of S. John's Church, Johnstown, which 
 edifice was burned in 1836. 
 
 We resume now the history of the Mohawk Mission from 
 1 770- 1 778. On the recommendation of Sir William Johnson, 
 the Rev. John Stuart was appointed missionary at Fort Hun- 
 ter, and arrived at his destination on December 2nd, 1770. 
 The number of the inhabitants was then about 170. On 
 Christmas Day he preached at Canajoharie, where the second 
 castle of the Mohawks was situated, and administered the 
 Holy Communion to 20 Indian converts. He describes them 
 as "attending divine service constantly, and making the re- 
 sponses with the greatest regularity and seeming devotion." 
 He prepared with the assistance of the noted Joseph Brant, a 
 translation of the Gospel according to S. Mark in the Mohawk 
 language. In 1774 he writes that their morals are much im- 
 proved since my residence among them." At the time of the 
 Revolution, the Rev. Mr. Stuart felt that his ordination vows 
 bound him to loyalty to the English crown, but the Indians 
 were so strongly attached to him that they publicly declared 
 theat they would protect and defend him so long as he con- 
 tinued to reside among them. In a letter to the Rev. William 
 White, of Philadelphia (afterwards Bishop of Pennsylvania), 
 under date of September 28th, 1778, he says: "My situation 
 
46 One Hundred Years of 
 
 is rather disagreeable, being deserted by almost all my con- 
 gregation. There remains only three families, the others hav- 
 ing at different times, joined the king's forces. I have not 
 preached within these last two years." In 1781 he writes to 
 the S. P. G. from Canada, where he had gone in October of 
 that year, that the Mohawks rather than swerve from their al- 
 legiance to England, preferred to abandon their dwellings and 
 property, and accordingly went in a body to General Bur- 
 goyne, and afterwards were to take shelter in Canada. Mr. 
 Stuart was taken prisoner by the American forces, and con- 
 fined on parole for three years to' the limits of Schenectady, 
 after which he was allowed to withdraw to Canada on the 
 promise of a suitable exchange being effected. In his letter 
 to the Society in 1781, he writes that "the Church at Fort 
 Hunter was plundered by the rebels, and the pulpit cloth taken 
 away from the pulpit; it was afterwards employed as a tavern. 
 The succeeding year it was used, for a stable, and now serves 
 as a fort." On his arrival in, Canada, he immediately repaired 
 to the Mohawk Village, where he was affectionately welcomed 
 by the members of his former Indian flock. Mr. Stuart is 
 $aid to have been 6 ft. 4 in. in height, and was accordingly 
 known among his New York friends as "the little gentleman." 
 The honorable of "Father of the Upper Canadian Church" has 
 been appropriately bestowed upon him;. In an unpublished 
 history of S. Peter's Church, Albany, by the Rev. Joseph 
 Hooper, of Durham, Conn., he thus quotes from 1 the "Notitia 
 Parochilis" of the Rev. Thomas Ellison, rector of S. Peter's, 
 the record of two visits that he made to> the vicinity of Fort 
 Hunter: "June 6th, 1799, Mr. Ellison preached in the court 
 house at Johnstown, the Presbyterians refusing to deliver him 
 the key of S. John's Church. June 8 Mr. Ellison preached in 
 the forenoon at Fort Hunter. The Church is in a wretched 
 condition, the pulpit, reading desk and two pews, only being 
 left, the windows being destroyed, the floor demolished, and 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 47 
 
 the walls cracked. In 1796 the Rev. John Urquhart was 
 placed in the charge of Fort Hunter and Johnstown." 
 
 Except on a few occasions, the Chapel had not been used 
 for a number of years when it was demolished about the year 
 1820 to give place to the Erie Canal, and the stones in it were 
 used in constructing guard-locks near its site. In a very able 
 and interesting address delivered in St. John's Church, Johns- 
 town, on October 15, 1897, by the Rev. F. S. Sill, D. D., of 
 Cohoes, he treats, in a very clear and exhaustive manner, the 
 subject of "Queen Anne's Chapel and the Church Lands of 
 Fort Hunter." The recovery of this property for the Church 
 and the subsequent disposition of the proceeds from its sale 
 occupied the attention of New York Churchmen in their 
 Diocesan Conventions for a period of over forty years. S. 
 Ann's Church, Port Jackson, in the town of Florida, which 
 had been organized in 1835, an ^ S. John's Church, Johnstown, 
 each received a share of these proceeds. 
 
 St. John's Church, Johnstown. 
 
 The settlement of Johnstown was begun by Sir William 
 Johnston in 1760, and occasional Church services were prob- 
 ably held there from that date onward, though the first church 
 was probably not built much before 1768. 
 
 In 1769 Mr. William Andrews was recommended to Sir 
 William Johnson for the mission at Johnstown, as well as for 
 the Church at Schenectady, to which latter place he was sub- 
 sequently appointed, by the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel. The Rev. John Hubbs, a former Rector of S. John's 
 Church, in an "Historical Address" delivered in 1887, to 
 which I am indebted for much of the information which is 
 here appended concerning that parish, says that "From the 
 records of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, we 
 learn that in 1770, Sir William offered a large tract of land 
 to the Church at Johnstown, if they could get the King's 
 
48 One Hundred Years of 
 
 grant, and that the Society granted to S. John's for the sup- 
 port of a clergyman £25; but the name of the clergyman I 
 have not been able to find." On the 28th of February, 1771, 
 Sir William writes to the secretary of the Society that the 
 "Church being small and ill-built," he was "preparing stone 
 and materials for erecting one much stronger and larger that 
 would accommodate 1,000 souls." The second building was 
 erected in that year, but was destroyed by fire in 1836. In the 
 early part of this same year, the Rev. John Ogilvie of New 
 York, recommended as a suitable rector for the new Church, 
 the Rev. David Griffith, D. D. But for some reason or other, 
 the Baronet was strongly prejudiced against Dr. Griffith, and 
 did not desire to have him for the rector. Dr. Griffith after- 
 wards went South, and was elected in 1786 as the first Bishop 
 pi Virginia, but being too poor to take the journey to Eng- 
 land, he was never consecrated. In 1772 the Rev. Richard 
 Mosely came from New England, and became the rector of 
 the parish. Mr. Mosely seems to< have had a trying experience 
 with the Puritans at Litchfield, where just previous to his 
 coming to Johnstown he had been fined £20 by the Court for 
 marrying a couple belonging to his parish (although the 
 banns had been published, and the consent of the parents ob- 
 tained), because he could not show any other license to offici- 
 ate as a clergyman than what he had received from the Bishop 
 of London, whose authority the Court decided did not extend 
 to Connecticut, which was a chartered government. One of 
 the Judges said: "It is high time to put a stop to the usur- 
 pations of the Bishop of London, and to let him' know, that 
 though his license be lawful, and may empower one of his 
 Curates to marry in England, yet it is not so in America; and 
 if fine would not curb them in this point, imprisonment 
 should." Mr. Mosely was not very robust in health, and he 
 found the climate too severe for him, and therefore resigned 
 in the early part of 1774, and returned to England the follow- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 49 
 
 ing spring. He was probably the first clergyman that was 
 regularly settled at Johnstown. After his departure, the Rev. 
 John Stuart, of Fort Hunter, of whom you have heard in con- 
 nection with the history of the Mohawk Mission, who was a 
 great friend of Sir William Johnson, and had officiated in S. 
 John's before the rectorship of Mr. Mosely, took charge of the 
 services and officiated in Johnstown in connection with his 
 work at Fort Hunter, until the war of the Revolution. These 
 were probably the last services of the Church that were held 
 in Johnstown for a number of years. Sir John Johnson, who 
 had come into the possession of his father's property was a 
 Tory of the extreme kind. After his defeat by the American 
 forces he escaped with his friends to Canada, and in the con- 
 fusion which ensued, and the bitter feelings which were en- 
 gendered, the Church building and property passed out of 
 the hands of its legitimate owners. The estates of Sir John 
 Johnson were declared forfeited to the State by the Legisla- 
 ture in 1779. Sometime after the war, probably by permission 
 from the Commissioners of Forfeiture, the abandoned Church 
 was opened and used by the Presbyterians and Lutherans, 
 and this continued until 1793, when the Legislature passed an 
 act which granted the stone Church and glebe, during the 
 pleasure of the Legislature, to the trustees of the Presbyte- 
 rian congregation, reserving however, the use of the Church 
 for "eight Sundays in the year to the Episcopalians and 
 Lutherans, if required by any number of them, not less than 
 ten." This act was merely a provisional one, and gave no 
 absolute title. On November 4th, 1789, at the Convention of 
 the Church in the State of New York, a letter was read from 
 the Rev. Thomas Ellison, of S. Peter's, Albany, giving an ac- 
 count of the particular circumstances of the Church at Johns- 
 town, which was referred to the Standing Committee. In 
 1796 there were sufficient church people in Johnstown to form 
 an incorporated body, and in that year the parish of S. John's 
 
50 One Hundred Years of 
 
 was duly incorporated according to the laws of 1784. The 
 vexed question of the church property was then more 
 thoroughly investigated, and a stand was made for its pos- 
 session. The final result of these efforts was not attained until 
 1 82 1. The corporation came into the full possession of the 
 Church in 1818, and in 1821 they received from the Treasurer 
 of the State, what was supposed to be an equivalent for the 
 glebe. 
 
 In 1797 the services were resumed by the Rev. John Ur- 
 quhart, who became rector in 1798, and resigned in i8oo\ 
 
 Of this period in the history of S. John's we find the follow- 
 ing mention in the "Reminiscences" of Bishop Chase. "Al- 
 though some distance out of his way, the writer could not 
 deny himself the pleasure of going to Johnstown, to visit his 
 fellow-laborer in the Gospel, the Rev. Mr. Urquhart. Here 
 he had the pleasure of beholding a goodly stone Church, with 
 an organ, built by Sir William Johnson, and endowed by that 
 munificent person, with a glebe for the support of an Episcopal 
 clergyman. The Church had been recovered by an appeal to 
 the Legislature, sitting in Albany, as the writer had witnessed 
 when a student for Orders in that city; but the glebe was still 
 'in the hands of those who had seized on it in the time of the 
 war, when so many prejudices for political reasons had been 
 excited against the Episcopal Church, and while the Pres- 
 byterian minister was maintained in comfort, Mr. Urquhart 
 received the support only of the few remaining Churchmen 
 whom poverty had detained in the place." 
 
 Mr. Urquhart was followed successively by the Rev. Messrs. 
 Jonathan Judd, Eli Wheeler, Pierre Alexis Proal, Parker 
 Adams, A. C. Treadway, U. M. Wheeler and Joseph Ransom, 
 who each had but short reetorates. The Rev. Mr. Judd came 
 from Trinity, Utica, whither he had gone as a deacon in 1804, 
 as the first minister-in-charge. The Rev. Mr. Proal, after 
 spending fifteen years in the rectorate of S. George's, Schen- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 51 
 
 ectady, became rector of Trinity, Utica, in 1836, where he re- 
 mained until his decease. It was during Mr. Ransom's in- 
 cumbency in 1836, that the Church edifice, erected by Sir Wil- 
 liam Johnson in 1771, was destroyed by fire. The corner- 
 stone of the new building was laid in the following April, and 
 on October 15th of that same year (1837) it was consecrated 
 by the Rt. Rev. B. T. Onderdonk, Bishop of New York. The 
 subsequent history of the parish moved along in quiet chan- 
 nels, and appears to have been uneventful. It had its trials 
 and its encouragements, its failures and its successes. The 
 sixtieth anniversary of the consecration of the present build- 
 ing, and the one hundred and twenty-fifth of its translation 
 from its first site to its present one by Sir William Johnson, 
 were fittingly observed in the parish on October 15th, 1897, 
 by appropriate services, including the benediction of a hand- 
 some Memorial Cross of granite, by the Rt. Rev. W. C. 
 Doane, Bishop of Albany. The present rector is the Rev. Dr. 
 Calbraith B. Perry. 
 
 Before leaving, however, our consideration of this historic 
 spot, we desire to refer to one farther incident in its expe- 
 rience, which occurred in 1862. 
 
 After the destruction of the old Church in 1836, the exact 
 location of the grave of Sir William Johnson, who had been 
 buried under its chancel, was not known. The Rev. Charles 
 H. Kellogg, who was the rector at that time, instituted a 
 search which resulted in the finding of the tomb of the great 
 Baronet; and under his direction the grave was repaired, and 
 the remains enclosed in a granite sarcophagus. The vestry 
 appointed a committee to solicit funds for the erection of a 
 suitable monument to this noted man, whom a recent author 
 describes as "One of the greatest of the makers of our Ameri- 
 ca." No report from the above committee ever appears to 
 have been made. 
 
52 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Two Rural Centennial Parishes. 
 
 In the immediate vicinity of Schenectady, situated about 
 equal distance from it, though in opposite directions, there are 
 two well established rural parishes that have celebrated their 
 centennial anniversaries, and which deserve to be mentioned 
 in this brief survey of early church centers. These parishes, 
 though just outside of what may be strictly considered the 
 Mohawk Valley, have yet been closely associated with the 
 work that has been carried on in it, and each of them in years 
 past have for a short period shared jointly in the ministrations 
 of the rector of S. George's, Schenectady. 
 
 I refer to the parishes of Christ Church, Ballston Spa., 
 and Christ Church, Duanesburgh. The former shared with 
 Schenectady in the rectorate of the Rev. Ammi Rogers, the 
 latter in that of the Rev. Robert P. Wetmore. 
 
 Christ Church, Ballston, Spa. 
 
 In the fourth convention of the Church in the State of New 
 York, held on June 2J, 1787, the published proceedings con- 
 tain the following item: — "A letter addressed to the Rt. Rev. 
 the Bishop, by the congregation at Ballston, requesting to 
 be recognized by the Convention, was read and approved." 
 
 The Rev. Thomas Ellison, whose name occurs so often in 
 this present narrative, was rector of S. Peter's, Albany, from 
 May 1, 1 787- 1 802, in which year he died. He was, in private 
 life, a gentleman of a sociable disposition and remarkable wit, 
 whose society was much courted, for it is said of him, that he 
 was "as much above a mean action as an angel is above a 
 calumniator." He was a devoted pastor, an able preacher, a 
 skillful administrator, and an enthusiastic missionary. We 
 find him connected more or less with all the parishes in this 
 vicinity, especially during vacancies in their cures, or at the 
 first struggles of their infantile life. He may well be described 
 as the "Rural Dean of Northern New York." At each of the 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 53 
 
 parishes of which we are now speaking, he appears to have 
 been active in furthering the organization of regular congre- 
 gations. In die "Historical Sermon" of the Rev. Charles 
 Pelletreau, L. H. D., rector of Christ Church, Ballston Spa., 
 preached in that church on July 3, 1887, he does not appear 
 to have a record of any services that were held in that village 
 prior to the time of the Rev. Mr. Ellison, but in the Parish 
 Register of S. George's, Schenectady there appear to have 
 been a number of baptisms administered there by the Rev. 
 John Doty, between the years of 1774 and 1777. The Rev. 
 Ammi Rogers was ordained by Bishop Provoost in 1792, and 
 his joint rectorship of the parishes of Ballston and Schenec- 
 tady date from the summer of that year. His exhibit of bap- 
 tisms is most extraordinary, the number in six years being 
 1,123. There is a current tradition that he actually and literal- 
 ly went out into the hedges and highways to preach the gos- 
 pel. He is also reported to have been a man of rare and per- 
 suasive eloquence. He was a lineal descendant of the Rev. 
 John Rogers, the Smithfield martyr, whose name is preserved 
 in history. Mr. Rogers was succeeded by the Rev. Frederick 
 Van Horn, who previously officiated in Orange County. In 
 1805, the rector of the parish who united under his charge, 
 Ballston, Charlton, Milton and Stillwater, reported to the 
 Convention from this parish sixty communicants' — just ten 
 less than S. Peter's, Albany. 
 
 In 1810, with the exception of five churches in and about 
 New York City, this parish showed a larger number of bap- 
 tisms than any church in the State, while in the matter of com- 
 municants, it stood among the foremost. 
 
 The Rev. Messrs. Joseph Perry, John Gregg, Jr., William 
 A. Clark, were successively in charge of the parish until 1824, 
 when the Rev. Dr. Babcock became rector, and remained for 
 upwards of twenty years at the helm. The Rev. George J. 
 Geer was rector from 1845-1852, when he was called to S. 
 
54 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Timothy's Church, New York City, where he remained until 
 his decease. He was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Rogers, 
 Rev. Charles Arcy, D. D., Rev. George W. Dean, D. D., and 
 the Rev. George Worthington, now Bishop of Nebraska, in 
 the order in which their names are mentioned. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Joseph Carey and the Rev. Dr. Walter Dela- 
 field were the more immediate predecessors of the present rec- 
 tor, the Rev. Charles Pelletreau, to whom I am indebted for 
 most of the above information. 
 
 Christ Church, Duaneshurgh. 
 
 The parish of Christ Church, Duanesburgh, was probably 
 organized in 1789, or prior thereto, as it was admitted into 
 union with the Convention of the Diocese of New York in 
 that year. The church was erected about the same time by 
 James Duane, of New York, at his own expense, and donated 
 to the parish. The original building is still in constant use, 
 in a good state of preservation, and unchanged. The earliest 
 record extant is that of its consecration on August 25th, 1793, 
 by the Rt. Rev. Samuel Provoost, Bishop of New York, 
 assisted in the services by the Rev. Thomas Ellison of S. 
 Peter's, Albany, and the Rev. Leonard Cutting, of New Berne, 
 N. C. 
 
 Previous to 1792 there seems to have been no settled clergy- 
 man here, but the Rev. David Belden came as a deacon, from 
 Connecticut, in 1792, and remained until 1795. He presided 
 at a meeting for the incorporation of the parish on March 
 17th, 1795. The Rev. R. G. Wetmore was rector jointly of 
 Duanesburgh and Schenectady from 1798-1801. There are 
 no parish records from this latter year to 18 17, although the 
 Convention Journals of New York contain reports of services 
 being held at Duanesburgh by various missionaries and sup- 
 plies during that period, among whom we note the names of 
 the Rev. Cyrus Stebbins, Rev. R. Hubbard, and the Rev. T. 
 C. Brownell, afterwards Bishop of Connecticut. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 55 
 
 From 1817 to the present time there have been eleven rec- 
 tors, their names and dates being as follows : Rev. N. F. Bruce, 
 1817-1819; Rev. Charles W. Hamilton, 1820-1822; Rev. Rich- 
 ard Burg, 1822-1828; Rev. William B. Thomas, 1829-1842; 
 Rev. Kendrick Metcalf, 1842- 1850; Rev. William O. Jarvis, 
 1851-1859; Rev. Robert T. S. Lowell, D. D., 1859-1869; Rev. 
 George L. Neide, 18(59-1881; Rev. Henry M. Teller, 1881- 
 1883; Rev. E. A. Hartmann, 1884-1889; Rev. Edward W. 
 Flower, 1889-. 
 
 The Hon. James Duane, the founder of the parish, and from 
 whose estate came the rectory, glebe and endowment, was a 
 member of the Continental Congress, first mayor of New 
 York City, and first Judge of the U. S. District Court, ap- 
 pointed by President Washington. He was also a vestryman 
 and warden of Trinity Church, New York, from 1772- 1794. 
 He died in 1797, and is buried under the church. 
 
 General William North, one of the wardens of the church 
 in 1795, was an Aid-de-Camp to General Washington in the 
 Revolutionary War.- He also is buried under this venerable 
 structure, the interior of which still preserves its original ar- 
 rangement. It has a high pulpit, with hanging sounding 
 board and a long reading desk just below and in front. There 
 are galleries on three sides, and the altar is railed off at one 
 side of the pulpit and desk which occupy the center. 
 
 Having now covered, though imperfectly, the field which 
 has been allotted to me by my reverend brother, I shall en- 
 deavor to merit your gratitude by bringing these extended 
 observations to a speedy conclusion. 
 
 A Brief Retrospect. 
 
 Looking backward to the period immediately preceding the 
 visit of the Rev. John Miller to Schenectady, mentioned in the 
 earlier part of this paper, we find that the Bishop of London, 
 the Rt. Rev. Henry Compton, to whom Mr. Miller dedicates 
 his "Description of the Province and City of New York," re- 
 
56 One Hundred Years of 
 
 ports in 1675 that there were "scarce four ministers of the 
 Church of England in all the vast tract of America, and not 
 above one or two of them, at most, regularly sent over." 
 
 In 1710, the Rev. Thomas Barclay, of Albany, in the same 
 letter to the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of 
 the Gospel, in which he refers to conducting services at Schen- 
 ectady, also states that "from New York to the utmost bounds 
 of my parish there is no minister but myself." And even as 
 late as 1798, when this parish of Trinity, Utica, was first or- 
 ganized, the Rev. Philander Chase informs us in his "Remin- 
 iscences" that there were not more than seven clergymen of 
 the Episcopal Church in the State of New York, north of the 
 Highlands. 
 
 At the present time, in this year of our Lord, 1898, in 
 Oneida County alone, of which Utica is the County seat, there 
 are 19 clergymen, 4,212 communicants, 2,025 teachers and 
 scholars in the Sunday School, with church property valued at 
 $503,151.00; there are canonically resident in the State of New 
 York, 5 Bishops, 925 other clergymen, 145 postulants and can- 
 didates for Orders, 175 lay readers, 156,000 communicants, 
 and 105,000 teachers and scholars in the Sunday Schools; 
 while connected with our American Church and owing alle- 
 giance to it, there are 84 Bishops, nearly 5,000 other clergy- 
 men, 900 postulants and candidates for Orders, 2,100 lay read- 
 ers, nearly 700,000 communicants, 500,000 teachers and 
 scholars in the Sunday School, and about 3,000,000 adherents. 
 
 The "little one" hath indeed "become a thousand," and the 
 "small one a strong nation." "Surely there is no enchantment 
 against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel; 
 Recording to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel 
 what hath God wrought." 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 57 
 
 THE CHURCH'S ADAPTABILITY TO THE SPIRIT- 
 UAL NEEDS OF OUR AGE. 
 
 BY THE REV. WILLIAM D. MAXON, D. D., RECTOR, CALVARY CHURCH, 
 PITTSBURG, PA. - 
 
 I appreciate profoundly the privilege of taking part in the 
 centennial of Old Trinity. By the kind consideration of the 
 Bishop and the cordial invitation of the Rector, I am permit- 
 ted to enjoy and profit by that to which I was heartily 
 minded when first the suggestion of this anniversary was 
 made. In this venerable church, seven years of my ministry 
 were spent whereof, as I recall them, the words concerning 
 Jacob and his fair Rachel rise unbidden on my lips: 'They 
 seemed but a few days for the love he had to her." They 
 were days of joy and peace and holy inspiration, whose 
 memory has been a continuing stimulus and benediction 
 amid the more exacting duties and difficulties of later years. 
 Raw and inexperienced as that seven years service was, 
 nevertheless it was full of rare happiness, and had lessons of 
 faith and hope and love which, I pray God, may never fail 
 from my life. Working for and with a people gently forbear- 
 ing, loyal, united, keenly susceptible to the rational spiritual- 
 ity of our church's system, and working under a Bishop in 
 whom, to a rare degree, the combination of intellectuality 
 and spirituality were and still are signally exemplified, whose 
 wise counsels of faith and duty were a priceless privilege, I 
 cannot now forbear to express my personal obligation to dear 
 Old Trinity and to the Diocese of Central New York, while 
 also most sincerely thanking the Bishop and Mr. Harding 
 
 for the opportunity they have so kindly afforded me of speak- 
 4 
 
5 8 One Hundred Years of 
 
 ing this morning on the important subject which also they 
 have assigned. 
 
 And for this our thoughts must immediately recur to the 
 period of the church's life since the steps of the pioneer mis- 
 sionary in 1798 brought about the organization of this parish. 
 A hundred years ago! How feeble and faltering was our 
 Church in those days. How strong and aggressive is she to- 
 day. Then, though she had seven bishops and two hundred 
 other clergy, the Church was invested with almost invincible 
 suspicion from them that were without, and seriously handi- 
 capped by many uncertainties of internal co-ordination. 
 Now, with her 84 bishops, and nearly 50,000 priests and 
 deacons in 58 dioceses, and 28 missionary jurisdictions, with 
 700,000 communicants increasing 50,000 yearly, with volun- 
 tary contributions, reported last year, of over twelve and a 
 half millions of dollars, with nineteen theological schools, 4 
 training schools for deaconesses, 8 colleges, 143 schools for 
 boys and girls, 90 hospitals and dispensaries, 129 home or- 
 phanages and shelters, 32 religious orders, and 20 Church 
 clubs — the Church to-day is as a giant refreshed with new 
 wine, confident, alert, winning the confidence of the American 
 people, enforcing a genuine regard on account of her fidelity 
 to the historical faith, and of her large and liberal sympathy 
 for the needs of men, becoming more and more a principal 
 factor in the solution of present-age problems, religious, so- 
 cial and individual. 
 
 In so far as the American Church may be viewed from the 
 standpoint of human organization and polity, I know nothing 
 which more truly and aptly discovers the secret of her adapt- 
 ability to the needs of our people from age to age, than the 
 original plan of wise Bishop William White as thus outlined 
 by his worthy successor, Bishop Alonzo Potter. 
 
 "The peace of 1783 had not been concluded before he 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 59 
 
 (Bishop White), had sketched out a pamphlet entitled "The 
 Case of the Episcopal Considered." A plan for the re-organ- 
 ization of our infant communion, which shows the compre- 
 hensive skill of a statesman, and which ultimately commend- 
 ed itself to general acceptance. The essential unity of the 
 whole American Church as a national church, its independ- 
 ence of any foreign jurisdiction, the entire separation of the 
 spiritual and temporal authority, the participation of the laity 
 in the legislation and government of the church, and in the 
 election of its ministers of every grade, the equality of all 
 parishes, and a three fold organization (diocesan, provincial 
 and general) were fundamental principles in his plan, as they 
 were in that which was finally adopted." Here was a broad 
 and sure foundation, and combined as it was with the firm 
 conviction of our first master builders, "That this church is 
 far from intending to depart from the Church of England in 
 any essential point of doctrine, discipline or worship; or far- 
 ther than local circumstances require," it was a foundation 
 capable of uprearing the great historical and variedly ap- 
 pointed fabric which not a few of our judicious prophets and 
 seers already like to denominate — the American church for 
 the American people. It is no unsubstantial vision. For in- 
 deed a church must have true connection with all the past of 
 Christianity, a national church must be prepared to co-or- 
 dinate with the constitutional structure of the nation in which 
 God has placed her; and an American church must be in- 
 stinct with the genius, and open minded to the boundless re- 
 sources and activities of the American people. Small as our 
 communion is besides some other Christian bodies, yet, with- 
 out the least disposition to stretch ourselves above nature, 
 but taking a just consideration of the facts of history and the 
 conditions of the present, we may well hope that if the church 
 shall hold the original foundation sure and continually re- 
 
60 One Hundred Years of 
 
 consecrate her spirits and efforts, the vision of our prophets 
 in due time will be realized. 
 
 But though man proposes, God disposes. If our church 
 were but a human fabric, we could have no such confidence. 
 If we could not steadfastly look beyond the judicious White 
 and his co-laborers of the sub-revolutionary age to the far 
 distant past of original Christianity, our present vision would 
 be that of deluded followers of a forlorn hope. We may never 
 forget the momentous promise of the divine head of the 
 church : "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the 
 world," nor the conviction and teachings of his first disciples, 
 "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is 
 Jesus Christ; ye are built upon the foundation of the Apostles 
 and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- 
 stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, grow- 
 eth unto an holy temple in the Lord." We have no option; 
 we must keep the original compact of God in Christ, which 
 no age has ever been, nor can ever be, competent to disannul. 
 The Church is not of this age nor of that ; but it is the Church 
 of the ages, and were our own Church but the creation of a 
 hundred years or of 350 years, we should have no justifica- 
 tion for the present, nor any security for the future. I will 
 not consume your time in the needless attempt to vindicate 
 our Church's historical position as apostolic. That repeated- 
 ly has been proved invulnerable whether to ponderous bulls 
 of Popes or to slender shafts of sectarianism. Her creeds and 
 her Bible, her ministry and her sacraments have constituted 
 both an impenetrable armor, and ever available munition 
 against attacks from every side. The appeal to history is our 
 especial delight, while our champions, equipped and resolute, 
 standing from age to age on the Church's ramparts — a 
 Hooker, a Laud, and an Andrewes, a Bull and a Waterland, 
 a White, a Seabury and a Hobart, a Gladstone, a Pusey and a 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 61 
 
 Church, a Lightfoot and a Liddon, a Westcott and a Temple, 
 a DeKoven, a Potter, a Doane, a Coxe and a Huntington, 
 have made it abundantly needless for me to proffer a puny 
 weapon on behalf of our Church's genuine apostolicity. 
 
 My particular duty, directed by the subject assigned, is to 
 claim the Church's adaptability to the needs of our own age — 
 a claim which almost a cursory survey of what the Church is 
 and is doing will vindicate without special word of mine. 
 Nevertheless I must try in some measure to fulfill my ap- 
 pointed task. And first, in accord with the analogy of our 
 Church's consistent position with reference to her true histor- 
 ical character, I must ask your thought to recur to the original 
 authority of our blessed Lord. Before departing from his first 
 commissioned apostles, he gathered them to his side and said: 
 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear 
 them now; howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come he 
 will guide you into all the truth; he shall glorify me, for he 
 shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you." This is the 
 original divine charter of the Church's adaptability from age to 
 age, having equal authority and necessity with that other or- 
 iginal divine charter of the Church's continuing apostolicility; 
 "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." 
 The first disciples were unequipped to meet any tasks of their 
 own age, without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit ; 
 now were they competent to discharge those tasks without the 
 co-operating ability of their own experience. They were, in- 
 deed, absolutely reliable witnesses to the resurrection of the 
 Son of God, for which they had but to declare — "We saw the 
 Lord dead and we saw him risen again" — and thus in Jerusa- 
 lem for a few years they tarried, adding many to the Church, 
 who "continued steadfastly in the teaching of the Apostles and 
 in the fellowship, in the breaking of the bread and in the pray- 
 ers." But later, when their numbers largely increased, and 
 after the missions to the Gentiles were inaugurated, the adapt- 
 
62 One Hundred Years of 
 
 ability to the Apostolic Church came more obviously into 
 effect. Practical problems had to be solved; the problem of 
 the equitable distribution of the common fund among the 
 Hebrews and the Grecians, the problem of opening the door 
 to the Gentiles, the problem of the circumcision of Gentiles, 
 the problem of the Sabbath day, the problem of the lingering 
 immoral and superstitious habits of heathen converts, the 
 problem of the almost universal expectation of the speedy 
 coming of the Lord. The fact of their direct divine commis- 
 sion did not spare the Apostolic leaders the necessity of learn- 
 ing by experience what things the Spirit would have them do. 
 They always sought the guidance of the Spirit, yet also they 
 failed not to take counsel one with another upon special 
 problems of Church extension, or of internal difficulties. Thus 
 they instituted the order of deacons for a practical exigency, 
 it met a need and they continued it; for a time they sustained 
 a sort of communism in material things which, under more 
 complex conditions, was afterward abandoned; they debated 
 long and earnestly upon terms on which the Gentiles should 
 retain communion with the Church, coming at length to a 
 compromise that gave general satisfaction; even so truly 
 apostolic a leader as St. Paul looked for the Lord's early re- 
 turn in visible form, an expectation which generally prevailed 
 among the disciples till the destruction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70, 
 and from that time gradually was dissolved. The church ad- 
 ministered by inspired Apostles, was an adaptable church, and 
 therefore a progressive church. Although the witness of the 
 apostles to the divine facts and verities of the faith was vir- 
 tually fixed and infallible, yet by the adjustment of those facts 
 to new experience the Apostolic Church was, as the church 
 in every age has been and must be conditioned by the original 
 charter of the Master: "When the Spirit of truth is come He 
 shall guide you into all the truth;" and from this our only 
 legitimate inference is, that the Spirit of truth works gradual- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 63 
 
 ly, not simply from God down to men, but also from men up 
 to God through manifold processes of human thought and 
 action. 
 
 If now we take a comprehensive survey of the Church's 
 movements from the apostolic age to the present, we observe 
 two broadly marked tendencies operating within the sphere of 
 the human, the mutual contact and counter-agency of which 
 is still striving to affect an even balance of adaptability. The 
 one is medievilism, the other is liberalism. Up to the Refor- 
 mation the preponderating human tendency expressed itself 
 in fixedness or unadaptability ; and the Reformation was a 
 divine protest of the Spirit of truth against the unadaptability 
 of medievalism. Since the Reformation and continuing to our 
 day the other tendency has expressed itself in the gradual re- 
 laxation from a co-ordinating, historically authoritative guid- 
 ance, an adaptability breaking out in many places into a licen- 
 tious liberalism. The imperative function of the Spirit of truth 
 in these days is, while still protesting against the unadaptabil- 
 ity of medievalism, to bind up the scattering elements of faith 
 and practice, thai mark the wayward course of liberalism, and 
 bring them into a truly divine-human correspondence. If 
 Christendom, before the Reformation, tended to sacrifice free- 
 dom of adaptability for the sake of the theoretic perfection of 
 the organism: its tendency since the Reformation, and still 
 evident in many sections of Protestantism, has been to impair 
 the soundness of the organism by an excessive license of un- 
 regulated adaptability. In either case, where human judgment 
 has proudly presumed against the Spirit of truth, there have 
 been grave spiritual dangers and distress, on the one hand, a 
 torpid conservatism, which is a slow strangulation of all vital 
 reality and human helpfulness, and on the other hand, a spe- 
 cious, infatuous liberalism which is a rampant run to ruin. 
 
 Without the smallest desire to vaunt our own historic 
 Church, I am confidently within bounds with the claim that 
 
64 One Hundred Years of 
 
 in her fundamental constitution, prevailing aim and orderly 
 movement, she is, for this land and age the conspicuous em- 
 bodiment and exponent of the ancient apostolic principle and 
 spirit. She has had her temporary periods of dead conser- 
 vatism; and in certain seasons and places, she has exhibited 
 outbreaks of over weaning liberalism. But in the main she 
 has nobly guarded her Via Media, and been true to what I 
 take to be her true watch cry: Conservativeness with Progress, 
 or if you please, historically and spiritually-consistent adapt- 
 ability; while her motto, which all her sincere lovers might 
 wish were more deeply appreciated and more truly exalted 
 amongst ourselves — a motto which in patient hope she has 
 presented to the generous recognition of them that are with- 
 out — is "In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus 
 caritas." 
 
 Again, I will not consume your time in needless proof of 
 this position of the Anglo-American Communion. Our Holy 
 Scriptures translated from the original Greek and Hebrew, yet 
 freely put into the hands of our people, our ancient creeds 
 fencing off the faith and guiding the popular Bible reading 
 against the wastes of ignorance, our confident appeal to an- 
 cient authors, our ever-ready recourse to history, our noble 
 vernacular liturgy which is no hasty manufacture but an or- 
 ganism of timely growth, together with our present day in- 
 creasing outreaches of practical activities will of themselves 
 abundantly justify our honorable claim on behalf of the 
 Church's safe-guarded freedom of adaptability to human 
 needs. 
 
 "Strengthen thy stakes and lengthen thy cords" was the in- 
 spired call of the prophet of God's people, as he foresaw the 
 incoming of the Gentiles to the fold of Israel. This call the 
 leaders of the Apostolic Church heeded when, though widely 
 adopting the Church for both Gentile and Jew, they yet pro- 
 claimed "Though we or an angel from heaven preach any 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 65 
 
 other gospel than that we preached unto you, let him be an- 
 athema." This call our own Church must likewise heed, and 
 I dare maintain that in all Christendom no Church body is 
 more sincerely and hopefully endeavoring- to heed it. The 
 Church of to-day must indeed provide for the hospitable shel- 
 tering of the manifold vital interests of humanity. This is her 
 mission as the authorized visible embodiment of the universal 
 Christ. Her stakes are the verities of the Faith, and to bear 
 up the expanding structure, these must be driven beyond pos- 
 sibility of removal into the very bed-rock of the divine-human 
 personality of the Christ, the Son of the living God. The 
 cords are her varied lines of outreach to all real and necessary 
 human interests, and they may always be safely lengthened if 
 the stakes are correspondingly strengthened. To lengthen 
 the cords without strengthening the stakes is to invite collapse. 
 Yet simply to strengthen the stakes and tighten the cords is 
 to provide a stiff and narrow structure for a small fraction of 
 the whole body of humanity: it is ingeniously to contrive a 
 gilded shrine for a pampered sect rather than faithfully and 
 generously to build up the glorious body of the Saviour of 
 mankind. Our own Church to-day, I say it with no poor 
 boasting, is well rooted in the original faith, while every year 
 she may be seen lengthening her cords of spreading sympathy 
 to embrace the spiritual with the intellectual and social needs 
 of the age. With her feet firm on the past, her mind and her 
 hands intensely occupied with the present, and her eyes, be- 
 hind and before, comprehending the progress of her Lord's 
 Kingdom from the old to the new Jerusalem', the Church is 
 not only holding her own, but steadily winning fresh and im- 
 portant advances. "Whereto we have already attained, let us 
 walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing," and as 
 men who would have understanding of the times, let us strive 
 together with the grace of God to know more and more clear- 
 ly what the Israel of our day ought to do. 
 
66 One Hundred Years of 
 
 (a) One of the profoundest spiritual needs of Christendom 
 is a true unity. The divisions among us are evils of gigantic 
 import. They becloud the Faith, they mislead the wayfarer, 
 they evoke the demons of envy and jealousy, they retard mis- 
 sions, they prevent public education, they handicap charities, 
 they waste money, they pierce through and through the heart 
 of the Master. Christian unity, such as Christ prayed for, and 
 his apostolic followers labored for, is yet in the maelstrom 
 wherein the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace are whirl- 
 ing uncertainly beneath the conflicting human powers of pride 
 and arrogancy, prejudice and suspicion, grandiloquent optim- 
 ism and disgusted pessimism,, demands for submission, 
 proffers of compromise, and decrees of laissez faire. Astound- 
 ing spectacle! Nevertheless the steady eye of faith may still 
 see the Spirit of God brooding above the troubled waters. In 
 former years, our Church may have been as little disposed to 
 adaptability as other Christian bodies. But since the Chicago- 
 Lambeth propositions this may not fairly be said. With de- 
 liberate publicity, she has avouched both her desire and her 
 basis of treaty. If any other body has proffered as much of 
 non-essential with equal loyalty to the apostolic faith and or- 
 der, I am unable to name it. If any body has contrived a 
 working platform of equal soundness and breadth for the ul- 
 timate organic union of all Christendom Greek, Roman, 
 Anglican, American and segmentary Protestantism, I know 
 not where to look for it. The quadrilateral has been met with 
 disdain on the one hand, and with mingled irritation and ridi- 
 cule on the other. Nevertheless, both for itself and for the 
 spirit in which it was offered, it still is worthy of the gratitude 
 of distracted Christendom, and although for the present, it is 
 submerged beneath the tumultuous waters that are still un- 
 subdued by the Spirit sent in the name of Christ, yet in due 
 time it will be taken up by that divine Spirit, and used as a 
 principal factor in the problem of pacification. Let patience 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 67 
 
 have her perfect work. God and time are sure master build- 
 ers. Christian unity, though it come not through submission 
 compelling dead uniformity, nor by levelling concessions 
 which dissipate all that is eternally distinctive in the Christian 
 Revelation, will yet come through the continuing prayerful 
 co-operative endeavor of all loyal minded lovers of God and 
 man. 
 
 (b) A marked characteristic of our age is its intellectual ac- 
 tivity. It has been the irrepressible growth of the past cen- 
 tury. I will not stop particularly to characterize its manifold 
 expressions. I simply state the evident fact that the direct 
 influence of mental intelligence upon spiritual feeling and aim 
 is profound and often revolutionary. To-day the question is 
 crucial — can man increase knowledge and retain his Christian 
 beliefs? The counter-question to this is — can man with per- 
 manent advantage increase knowledge and ignore the religion 
 of Christ? It is for the Church to return no uncertain answer 
 to these questions. If it is true, as Mr. Froude said, that 
 "Science grows, and observers are adding daily to our knowl- 
 edge of the material universe, but they tell us nothing of what 
 we most want to know;" then the Church which is the ex- 
 ponent of Christ's religion has a chief function to minister un- 
 to this deepest and highest knowledge. 
 
 How far ought and may the Church adapt her faith and 
 methods of religious education so as to bring the mind of the 
 age into captivity to the law of Christ? Not so far as to con- 
 nive at the abrogation of her Faith; not so little as to leave her 
 stranded on the high and dry shore of permanent intellectual 
 confusion. If she shall so utterly concede the revealed faith in 
 the Incarnate Christ to the imperious demand of present day 
 intellectualism as to consent that Christ shall be relegated 
 simply to an honorable rank among the great spiritual masters 
 of the world, she will forfeit her trust, and the axe of divine 
 judgment will be laid unto her very root. Yet if she shall re- 
 
6S One Hundred Years of 
 
 fuse to believe and aet upon the conviction, that within the re- 
 vealed Christian facts there is a perennial fountain of spiritual 
 wisdom for quenching the thirst of man for the true knowl- 
 edge of God and eternal life, then she will fail of her power 
 to co-operate with the Spirit of truth in christening the mind 
 of the world. Were I equal to^ the task, time would yet fail 
 me to> indicate what the Church Catholic might do, or even 
 what our own branch of the Church is doing in the direction 
 of a true adaptability. I simply affirm on the one hand that 
 blind submission to a single alleged infallible authority in faith 
 and morals insufficiently respects the practical rationality of 
 the human mind, and tends still, as ever, to a subversion of the 
 co-operating ability of man's reason in the appropriation of a 
 living faith; and on the other hand, that unguided private 
 judgment long since has put the Church face to face with the 
 problem of how to preserve the Historic Faith from funda- 
 mental evacuation. I believe our own Church has a clear call 
 and a free opportunity to meet the issue between faith and 
 rationalism. I believe she is awake to the issue. Her portals 
 are wide, her foundation is at once broad and firm. Within 
 the limits of loyal fidelity to the historic creeds and of rational 
 regard to historic order, she has a welcome and a place for 
 many schools of thought, among her leaders she has many of 
 the master minds of the age; and if by God's grace she shall 
 to herself keep true she cannot prove false to any man, but 
 more and more worthily respond to her calling as the Church 
 of the reconciliation. 
 
 (c) Finally there are the social needs of the age. The times 
 bristle with problems of poverty and industrial disorder, of the 
 clashing of classes, of municipal misrule and anti-patriotic un- 
 righteousness. These profoundly affect the spiritual attitude 
 and welfare of our people. Is the Church prepared to adapt 
 herself so as to give Christ his proper determining value in the 
 solution of these problems? It is impossible for her to be in- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 69 
 
 different to them, although it is difficult for her to hold the 
 right proportion between a visionary spirituality and despirit- 
 ualized secularity. But she cannot shrink back. She must 
 hold herself by a double band of loyalty and sympathy to 
 Christ and to all things that pertain to the coherency and up- 
 lifting of human society. We Church people must needs con- 
 fess that God's purpose is "in the fullness of times to gather 
 together in one all tilings in Christ, both which are in heaven 
 and which are on earth," and that "the Church is the body of 
 Christ, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." From the 
 standpoint of this faith, who will draw the exact lines between 
 things sacred and things secular? All life is sacred to God. 
 Who will precisely discriminate between the ideal cf the Christ- 
 ian Church and the ideal of the Christian State? Let God 
 work his strange work, and in his time the kingdoms of this 
 world shall be the Kingdom of his Christ. The Church has 
 been with one eye closed; and the Spirit of truth now knocks 
 loudly at her door saying, "It is high time to be all awake." 
 The Church may no longer merely propound spiritual ideals; 
 she must with the grace of God work out those ideals in down- 
 right contact with social needs. Shall the present generation 
 of men, seeking in vain a true brotherhood within the Church, 
 still strive to satisfy their need of fraternity in the increasing 
 orders and associations outside the Church? Shall men and 
 women, divinely endowed with intelligence and sympathy, 
 and with unquenchable desire to work for a better social order, 
 be forced to turn away from an unsympathetic and unpractical 
 Church to other societies for the people's improvement, whose 
 principles are indifferent if not antagonistic to the historic 
 faith of Christianity? Shall there be over-repetition of the sad 
 circumstance, a few years ago, of toiling workmen, stung by a 
 sense of indifference, applauding the name of Christ and hiss- 
 ing the name of the Church? Christ would not have it so. 
 The Church, responding to the urgent call of the Spirit, can 
 
70 One Hundred Years of 
 
 no longer suffer it to be so. Undoubtedly the Church, still 
 lacking full equipment and working force, may not adequately 
 supply all the needs of the times. Individuals working through 
 voluntary associations which acknowledge no allegiance to the 
 Church, besides municipal and state institutions, must and will 
 continue to share in providing for the people's needs. But the 
 Church must ever be at the forefront of the practical uplift- 
 ing social forces, nor suffer herself to retire impotently to the 
 rear; while continuously her indirect influence must work to 
 keep alive Christian principles in all individual workers 
 whatever be their particular association. None like her 
 can speak so authoritatively, so persuasively in the august 
 name of Jesus Christ. None like her can maintain the Spirit 
 within the body of practical works. None like her can so read- 
 ily marshal men and women of all classes to a disinterested 
 co-operation on behalf of some great public cause, and at the 
 same time fix an enlightened conscience, and set free a sus- 
 tained inspiration for the permanent accomplishment of such 
 cause. Already in our great cities Christianity is multiplying 
 her agencies for practical ministration to the people; a fact of 
 immense significance, for without doubt the city is getting to 
 be the determining human power for the future good or evil 
 of the country. In this arousing Christian work, our own 
 Church is doing valiantly, as may be shown from the annual 
 Year Books of an increasing number of parishes. Certainly 
 our own Church has much to encourage her to even larger and 
 nobler works. I mean not simply the general intelligence and 
 wealth of our city congregations; but even more the underly- 
 ing principle of her conservative adaptability, and especially 
 her emphatic recognition of the co-operation of the laity in all 
 that appertains to her practical governance and ministration. 
 These are indeed times when our laity can most effectually 
 supplement the peculiar functions of the clergy; not simply 
 by generous money-giving, but by actual work along educa- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 71 
 
 tional, moral and charitable lines in the Sunday School, at the 
 headship of parish improvement societies, through the Church 
 Clubs, by bringing vital questions of good citizenship, genuine 
 patriotism, honest business methods, and of a just relation 
 between wealth and stewardship to bear upon the youths of 
 their respective parishes. Our laity are preparing themselves, 
 yes, even now they are ready to respond to the inspiriting call 
 of the clergy. Let the clergy more and more earnestly adapt 
 themselves to such a co-operation with the laity as the prin- 
 ciples of the Church clearly provide; and beyond all doubt 
 both the clergy and the laity will be proportionally stronger, 
 and our Church will advance mightily in directing the coun- 
 try to> a higher national life. 
 
 Said the English justice Lord Coleridge the other day at 
 the Anglo-American dinner in London : "We are the only two 
 nations which know how to combine public order and private 
 freedom." So they speak who look in due time for the world- 
 dominance of the Anglo-Saxon. Can there be a truer, nobler 
 national ideal and principle — public order and private free- 
 dom? And with some future Anglo-American alliance in 
 (State, who shall fail to connect the influence of the past and 
 present acknowledged Anglo-American alliance in Church? 
 Public order and private freedom! Read this with an eccles- 
 iastical and religious significance; and shall we not confess it 
 to be an essential idea and prevailing aim of the great historic 
 Church of the English-speaking peoples, whose two chief 
 branches, interlaced and still interlacing from both shores of 
 the Atlantic, were never more vigorous and fruitful than at this 
 ending of the nineteenth century? 
 
72 One Hundred Years of 
 
 LETTERS OF REMINISCENCE FROM FORMER 
 PARISHIONER OF TRINITY CHURCH. 
 
 READ BY THE REV. JOHN ARTHUR, RECTOR, ST. JOHN'S 
 CHURCH, ONEIDA, N. Y. 
 
 LETTER FROM MRS. ELIZABETH BROWN, DENVER, COLO. 
 
 In 1816 and '17 I attended Miss Lye's school in Norton, St. 
 Philips, England. Among my classmates were the three 
 daughters of Bishop William White of Pennsylvania, the sec- 
 ond American Bishop. 
 
 In 1820 I was a maiden of seventeen. I came to Utica, 
 and thus began my acquaintance with Trinity Church. Utica 
 was a small village at that time, and depended upon stage 
 coaches for communication with the outside world. Trinity 
 was the only Episcopal Church in that part of New York 
 State, except the one at Paris Hill, and was attended by many 
 of the principal inhabitants of the place. The church was much 
 smaller than now, and was built in the year of my birth, 1803. 
 I am therefore the age of old Trinity. I well remember when 
 Mrs. M. Hunt's tablet was placed in the. church. 
 
 Some years after my arrival the church was enlarged and 
 renovated, and was thought to be a fine edifice for those days. 
 It had no recess chancel then. The pulpit being elevated 
 several feet above the floor. The chancel enclosed by a cir- 
 cular railing, and the communion table, supported by four 
 fluted columns, about four inches in diameter, stood before 
 the pulpit. The clergyman ascended two or three steps into 
 the chancel from the vestry, when he read the opening sen- 
 tences, and continued the service. In reading the lessons as- 
 cending three or four steps more to the reading desk. The 
 service ended the choir sang a psalm, during which the 
 preacher passed down into the vestry, to again appear robed 
 in a black silk gown through a door back of the pulpit. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 73 
 
 I do not remember then of hearing of any of our clergy- 
 men being accused of preaching over the heads of the con- 
 gregation, or of being too "high church," even if the pulpit 
 was so elevated. 
 
 All the woodwork outside and inside, walls and ceiling, were 
 painted white. The crimson fringe which hung from the desk 
 and the bright carpet which covered the small chancel floor, 
 made a pretty contrast. 
 
 The pews of the church were arranged after the fashion of 
 the old country, and most of them owned by persons who had 
 subscribed liberally to the erection of the church. Some of 
 them were surrounded by cushions, and all of them trimmed 
 and furnished by the owners in different colors, red, blue, 
 green and grey moreen in a very sumptuous fashion. A few 
 of the owners had keys to their pews, and when worship was 
 over, the doors were locked against intruders. This would 
 seem strange now, but custom made it all right then. 
 
 My husband, who was at one time a vestryman of the 
 church, was the owner of one of these pews, which he pur- 
 chased from 1 an original owner. It was furnished in green 
 moreen, and studded with brass headed nails, and was thought 
 to be one of the finest in the church. 
 
 The church was heated by two stoves, placed in front, the 
 pipes running along near the ceiling to the back of the church; 
 but notwithstanding it sometimes was uncomfortably cold in 
 severe weather. It was not uncommon to see members of the 
 congregation bring in foot-stoves, to mitigate the cold. I im- 
 agine such a scene might cause a smile now. 
 
 At night for concerts, weddings or any special occasion, 
 the church was lighted by candles, and three large oil lamps, 
 which hung from the ceiling by chains. From these lamps 
 glass pendants were suspended, and every one thought they 
 
74 One Hundred Years of 
 
 were very beautiful. The windows were square, and cut up in- 
 to small panes. 
 
 Sunday services were at ten o'clock in the morning, and at 
 three in the afternoon, in the summer. Holy Communion 
 was celebrated after morning service, on the first Sunday of 
 each month. During Lent services on Wednesday and Fri- 
 day morning. 
 
 A box was placed near the door for contributions for mis- 
 sionary work, and the poor of the parish, and remained there 
 many years. 
 
 Over sixty years ago there was an English family who at- 
 tended Trinity, consisting of father, mother, and over a dozen 
 sons and daughters of various ages. The men wore heavy 
 boots, and as their pew was near the front, the noise they 
 made attracted attention. When the family entered they did 
 so in order of their ages. Until all were seated the reading 
 ceased. When they reached their pew, each, the father and 
 sons raised his hat to> his face, and after a short prayer all 
 would sit, and the service would be resumed. Their move- 
 ments were on the military order. I cannot now recall the 
 name of this interesting family, but they were regular attend- 
 ants for some years. 
 
 Before leaving our English home I had read and heard 
 much of the Indians and their savage cruelties, and was great- 
 ly disappointed at seeing none in New York, or on the jour- 
 ney through the woods from Albany to Utica. About my 
 first sight of the savage was in Trinity Church, often as de- 
 vout worshipers, numbering as many as fifteen Indians and 
 squaws, many of them fine specimen of their race, dressed in 
 blankets, generally of dark blue broad-cloth. Their costume 
 was highly ornamented with colored beads, quills and gay 
 feathers. 
 
 A large band of these people settled near Oneida Lake, and 
 the noble Bishop Hobart, who confirmed me, took a great 
 
A 
 
 IV 
 
 Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 75 
 
 interest in their spiritual welfare. In after years Bishop De- 
 Lancey and Dr. Proal had an oversight of them. I remember 
 when their tribe separated, and many of them went west. 
 
 They attended service in beautifully ornamented garments, 
 with moccasins embroidered in beads and quills, and hair 
 gathered in a knot, from which feathers of bright colors de- 
 pended. 
 
 Good seats were always provided in the church. After the 
 galleries was put in, they sat in the gallery at the right side of 
 the church, and at the left of the pulpit. They were a most 
 interesting sight. Their bowed head and reverent demeanor 
 was a good example to us all. 
 
 During the rectorate of Dr. Proal the church was enlarged 
 to its present dimensions. It still remained the only church 
 in the city, and a movement began to form another parish. 
 Grace Church was the result, many of the most influential and 
 respected attendants of Trinity leaving. Some of these were 
 owners of pews in Trinity, and between them and Dr. Proal 
 there was a good deal of friction. Dr. Proal insisted that the 
 claim of absolute ownership was neither just or for the best 
 .interests of the parish, and he carried his point, as he was a 
 very determined man, when he thought he was right. A good 
 deal of bitterness resulted, but in time the matter was forgot- 
 ten, and Dr. Proal's views were sustained. I remember an 
 instance of his method. One Sunday afternoon a baptismal 
 service was held; and after the lesson the Doctor asked the 
 persons to be baptized to come forward, and commenced the 
 service; but owing to some misunderstanding, the organist 
 began to play the chant and the choir to sing. Dr. Proal 
 waved his prayer-book to the choir. They paid no attention 
 whatever, but continued; finally Dr. Proal in that splendid 
 voice of his, which was heard above choir and organ, cried 
 out, "Stop that chant." I never in my life saw a more morti- 
 fied lot of singers. When the baptism was over the chant was 
 
7 6 One Hundred Years of 
 
 sung in its proper place, but without the organ, the organist 
 being too much upset by this public rebuke to play. The les- 
 son was a severe one, and was not forgotten by the choir for 
 many years. 
 
 I have a very lively recollection of the men who ministered 
 at old Trinity during my connection with the church. Rev. 
 Henry Shaw occupied the pulpit in 1820. He was a very 
 young man of more than ordinary ability. He was distin- 
 guished for his kindness of heart, and was generally liked, 
 particularly by the younger members of the congregation. 
 He was rector for only two years; objections being made to 
 hdm on account of his youth. I remember his farewell ser- 
 mon very well. We were all much affected. The preacher 
 shed bitter tears. 
 
 For a few months after Mr. Shaw left, Trinity was without 
 a rector, Judge Nathan Williams and Judge Morris S. Miller 
 acting alternately as lay readers. These two gentlemen made 
 it their duty and pleasure to welcome strangers to the services. 
 
 Rev. Henry Anthon was the next rector. He was a medium 
 sized, rather delicate looking man, about forty years of age, 
 as near as I can remember. He was talented, and a very 
 spiritually minded man; but uncompromising where the church 
 was concerned. Persons of other denominations sometimes 
 called him the "brimstone man." I do not remember just 
 why. His home life was particularly delightful. Strangers 
 were made equally welcome with his friends. The church in- 
 creased under his ministration. 
 
 Mrs. Anthon deserves more than a passing mention. She 
 was in rather feeble health, but was ever active among the 
 poor, who loved her. As a clergyman's wife she was perfect. 
 I called upon her one day. She entered the house at the same 
 time, carrying a tea kettle that had been given her for some 
 poor family. This she was going to deliver in person. Mrs. 
 
The Rev. Henry Anthon, D. D. 
 Rector from 1821 to 182Q. 
 
 The Rev. Benjamin Dorr, D. D. 
 Rector from 182Q to 1835. 
 
 The Rev. Pierre Alexis Proal, D. D. 
 Rector from i8j6 to 1857. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 77 
 
 Anthon's sister, Miss Curry, took almost entire care of the 
 large family of boys, while she assisted her husband. 
 
 During Mr. Anthon's rectorship the first parsonage was 
 built. 
 
 A sermon I remember very well, which made a great im- 
 pression upon myself and others was from the text, "As for 
 me and my house we will serve the Lord." Dr. Anthon 
 preached this sermon with great feeling. He left us to become 
 the rector of St. Stephen's, New York. 
 
 The next rector of Trinity was Rev. Benjamin Dorr, tall, 
 pale and slight, with a remarkably clear and powerful voice. 
 He was a very earnest man, and preached as one having 
 authority. He was well-educated, and a convincing speaker; 
 yet withal he was one of the kindest and most tender of men. 
 JA sermon of his from the words, "For now we see through a 
 glass darkly, then face to face," was one of the most sym- 
 pathetic and convincing sermons that I have heard a Chris- 
 tian minister preach. He repeated it more than once by re- 
 quest. Dr. Dorr was too able a man for the small parish of 
 Trinity, and he accepted a call to Christ Church, Philadelphia. 
 
 Rev. Pierre Alexis Proal, who succeeded Dr. Dorr, after a 
 space, was a remarkable man in every way, physically and 
 mentally, and a power in the church. His presence was com- 
 manding, and he was gifted with one of the most powerful 
 voices that I ever heard, musical as well; and he was able to 
 use it to such advantage in reading our beautiful service. I 
 never heard such a reader. In the burial service of the church 
 the words received a new meaning from his emphasis and tone. 
 A perfect specimen of a churchman. He took great interest 
 in the Liberia question, when that project of sending the 
 colored people back to Africa interested so many. To make 
 men better, to benefit all races, and to elevate mankind was 
 his aim. Though one of the most sympathetic of clergymen, 
 he was a man of very positive convictions, and made enemies. 
 
78 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Some of those who left Trinity at the time Grace Church was 
 organized felt very bitter toward Dr. Proal, but everybody re- 
 spected him, and admired his commanding abilities and sin- 
 cerity of purpose. He ranked high in the Diocese, and was 
 trusted greatly by his own Bishop. His parishioners all loved 
 him, and they leaned on him as they would on a father. His 
 death was a personal losis to- them, and it seemed as though 
 ;we should never be able to bear it. As far as it was possible 
 for a clergyman to impress his individuality upon a parish, Dr. 
 Proal succeeded in stamping his upon Trinity. A son-in-law, 
 Rev. Mr. Riley, officiated for a time, then Rev. S. Hanson 
 Coxe was called as his successor, whose death was recent. As 
 a speaker and orator Dr. Coxe was surpassed by none of the 
 former clergymen of old Trinity. There are many now living 
 who can testify to the sterling worth and loveliness of his 
 character. 
 
 Thus I have written my recollections of Trinity Church of 
 former days. I seem to live over again the incidents of those 
 events which marked the early history of the parish, which is 
 soon to celebrate its "One hundredth birthday." I cannot 
 now, and never have been able to regard myself as any but a 
 communicant of old Trinity, though I have been absent for 
 over twenty-five years, yet in spirit I constantly return to it, 
 and now, in recalling my early life, I realize more and more as 
 I grow older, the great influence upon my mind and charac- 
 ter of the spiritual ministration which I received during my 
 long connection with the parish. 
 
 From distant Colorado, therefore, in my ninety-fifth year, I 
 greet all you who* are gathered to< do honor to my old parish. 
 I have experienced many changes in my long life, but my faith 
 is stronger than ever. It will not be long before I shall be 
 summoned to meet those who have gone before me, but I am 
 ready. I greet you again, and say farewell. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 79 
 
 LETTER FROM MRS. ELIZABETH P. ARTHUR, UTICA, N. Y. 
 
 My first acquaintance with Trinity Church was in 1848. In 
 the fall of that year I first entered it, as a bride of a few 
 months. The interior of the church was quite different from 
 what it is now. It had but two aisles, and the pews were old 
 style, with high backs, though large and comfortable. Many 
 of the congregation owned their pews, and these were in the 
 body of the church, and upholstered, according to the own- 
 ers' fancy, some one color, and others another. The other 
 pews were ranged along the side of the building, about half 
 of them running across, and the rest running up and down 
 facing the congregation, more than the clergyman. My hus- 
 band and myself occupied one of these pews, together with 
 Mr. George Hopper and Mr. Miles Comstock, and I think, Mr. 
 Selden Collins. Quite near us, in one of the cross seats, sat 
 Mr. David Prentice, his wife and two daughters. About two 
 years afterward occurred the marriage of Selden Collins, and 
 the youngest Miss Prentice. Mr. Prentice lived at that time 
 in a large house on the corner of First and Catharine Streets, 
 and had a Latin and grammar school for boys and young 
 men. He was very highly thought of as an instructor, and 
 Horatio Seymour, besides many other promient men, had 
 been pupils of his. Mr. Prentice soon after moved to Geneva, 
 where he passed the rest of his very useful life. 
 
 I think it was in 185 1 that the interior of the church was 
 remodeled — new pews were placed, and all were cushioned 
 alike, and we had a broad aisle in the center, and two other 
 aisles next to the wall. This was what Dr. Proal had long 
 desired. It gave the church a more pleasant look — it was 
 more convenient for weddings and funerals, and broke up 
 the ownership of pews, which were now rented and brought 
 in a certain income. 
 
 Dr. Proal was, as his name indicates, of French descent. 
 
80 One Hundred Years of 
 
 He was an excellent pastor — highly educated, painstaking and 
 business like. His sermons were excellent — models I should 
 say, and his reading was beautiful. I used to think it almost 
 -as good as a sermon, to hear him read a hymn or a chapter 
 from the Bible. One forgot the reader, and only thought of 
 the beautiful meaning of the words. Later, if it was said of 
 anyone, that he read as well as Dr. Proal, it was considered 
 praise enough. 
 
 He was a very industrious man, rising often at 4 A. M., 
 and working in his garden, and raising as fine fruit as could 
 be obtained at that time. He used to say it took no more 
 space or labor for a good tree than a poor one. Mrs. Proal 
 was a very beautiful woman, and like her mother a good man- 
 ager; never remiss in any parish work, where she was able 
 to assist her husband, or the church. Together they reared a 
 family, giving them good education, and also bought a house 
 on Broad Street, next the church, to which they retired when 
 Dr. Proal resigned, on account of failing health, and it was 
 there he died. His oldest daughter, Miss Mary, was educated 
 at the Seminary of Miss Sheldon, and afterwards conducted 
 a young ladies' school in this house for some years. She mar- 
 ried Mr. Judson, and afterwards removed to Buffalo. 
 
 The second daughter, Miss Elizabeth, married Mr. Riley, 
 who was Dr. ProaTs assistant for a short time. 
 
 My husband, Mr. Arthur, was a vestryman while Dr. Proal 
 was living. He was with him at the time of his death, and he 
 with the other vestrymen, among whom were Selden Collins 
 and Miles Comstock, bore him to his last resting place, and 
 Bishop DeLaney officiated at his funeral. For twenty-one years 
 he had served his Lord in this Parish, and we felt that it would 
 be difficult to find any one to fill his place. Yet, in securing 
 Rev. S. Hanson Coxe to succeed Dr. Proal we thought we 
 were extremely fortunate. He was from the first much liked 
 
THE RKV. S. HANSON COXE, S. T. D. 
 Rector from 1857 to 1S77. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. Si 
 
 by every one, and Mrs. Proal remarked that "He reminded 
 her of her husband in his younger days." Those who had the 
 privilege and the pleasure of hearing him will never forget his 
 able and interesting sermons, and his beautiful reading, 
 when his magnificent voice, his earnestness and sincerity was 
 uplifting to even the dullest among his hearers. He was 
 painstaking and conscientious, a godly man, and twenty 
 years was passed among us, twenty years, and as he himself 
 said, "The best of his life," and who shall say how much good 
 was wrought in that time? The good we cannot estimate, it is 
 only known to "Himi who readeth the heart," but we do know 
 that we passed through much that was sad and sorrowful. The 
 Civil War was one thing. There was then much division of 
 feeling, and much that was bitter said and thought. It was a 
 critical time for clergymen, as their words were watched, and 
 sometimes distorted, and it is much to Dr. Coxe's credit that 
 he bore himself without reasonable blame through all that 
 trying time. The long illness and final death of Mrs. Coxe 
 was also a great trial to our rector, and a loss to the church, 
 as she was lovely in life and character, and a willing helper in 
 every good work. 
 
 Dr. Cox-e has been called a model clergyman, and it cer- 
 tainly seemed as though "In life in death," he was the "true 
 servant of his Lord." He was sorry to leave us, but his last 
 sermon was certainly a model one. There was no word of 
 blame for anyone, but it was full of love and charity, and holy 
 resignation to God's will. Among other things, he said if he 
 had his life to live over again, he would "still wish it to be the 
 life of a clergyman." 
 
 The congregation of Trinity Church has greatly changed 
 since then, and yet it seems not so very long ago. In the gal- 
 lery was Dr. Seiboth at the orgjam, and he could "make it 
 talk," and his unrivaled choir were Miss Kate Lloyd, Miss 
 
82 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Emily Payne, Miss Fannie Green, Miss German, and the 
 gentlemen were Mr. Charles Foster and Mr. Spruce and 
 others. Some of the worshipers and listeners to this sacred 
 and fine music were the Comstocks, both Miles and Edwin, 
 and their families; Mr. Selden Collins and family; Mr. Ford 
 Green and family; Mr. Henry Green and family; Mr. Thomas 
 Francis and family; Mr. J. J. Francis and family; Mr. Weed 
 and family; the Reynolds; the Dunns; the Spriggs; Ira 
 Chase and family; Mrs. Brown and family; Mr. Farwell and 
 family; Mr. C. Hutchinson and family; Dr. Colling and fam- 
 ily. In the middle aisle were the Coventrys, Miss Louise 
 Hart and Miss Hayes; A. B. Johnson and family; David 
 Clarkson and family; the Westcotts; the Woodruffs; Mr. and 
 Mrs. Dows; the Peekhams; Governor Seymour and family; 
 the Millars; Roscoe Conkling and family; Joseph Shearman 
 and family; Mr. Marklove and family; the Buckinghams; 
 Mr. Seward and family, and many others. Some of these 
 have removed to other churches, or other towns, but the 
 greater part have "past over the bar" and joined the innumer- 
 able throng. 
 
 The successor of Dr. Coxe was Charles H. Gardner, and he 
 filled the place very acceptably for nine years. At the end of 
 that time he was called and accepted a position of greater 
 responsibility in the Far West. While rector here, in the year 
 1881, the seventy-fifth anniversary of this church was held, 
 and he read the historical address, taking the history from the 
 beginning in 1798, up to the time of Dr. Proal. Mr. Gardner 
 was a man of splendid physique, and in the prime of life, and 
 those who knew him were filled with surprise and deep regret, 
 J when in the summer of 1896 we heard of his death at Bay 
 City, Wis. He too has "gone before," and joined the "choir 
 invisible." 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 83 
 
 LETTER FROM MRS. ISABELLA C. PEAS, MOHAWK, N. Y. 
 
 My first recollections are of the Sunday School, held in 
 1828 in the church. The girls on the east side, boys on the 
 west, with each a superintendent — Miss Hathaway, sister of 
 Mrs. Samuel Beardsley, over the girls. Rev. Dr. Anthon 
 came once down the aisle in his black silk gown, speaking to 
 us, to our great awe. After him came Dr. Dorr, by whom we 
 were all baptized. I being then six years of age, remember the 
 service. Sunday School differed in some ways from present 
 methods. We had two sessions. The first from 9 to 10:15, 
 when all children (except a few who were obliged to be at 
 home), went into church, and remained to service. This was 
 longer then than now. In the first place the Confession, 
 Lord's Prayer and Creed, were repeated each sentence after 
 ,the priest, and not with him. No part of the service being 
 either shortened or omitted, and sermons were longer then, 
 dare I say stronger? — always one doctrinal sermon each 
 Sunday. Service began at 10:30 A. M., lasting till 12:30, 
 or often 12:45. Afternoon service at 1:30, and one hour 
 of Sunday School from 3 to 4. We had no rewards in the 
 way of entertainments or Christmas tree. The only thing 
 of the kind I recall was a time when Miss Hathaway stood 
 in the vestibule giving each pupil a Christmas cooky. After 
 the galleries were built, Sunday School removed to them, 
 Dr. Dorr giving instruction from the organ loft. I well re- 
 member the maps, with red flags marking the cities of 
 refuge. The old canopy over the pulpit was a curiosity 
 which we likened to a parasol. When old Bishop Chase, 
 very tall, with a skull-cap on his head, came through 
 the small door which admitted to the pulpit, we children 
 trembled, fearing he might hit his head. The church was 
 warmed a little by a large "Nott" stove, placed near the west 
 door, the pipe running under the gallery to the south wall. 
 
84 One Hundred Years of 
 
 The long distance caused the accumulation of creosote, so 
 that each joint was ornamented by a tin pail to keep it from 
 dropping in the pews. As it was so cold many brought foot 
 stoves. These being made of tin with perforations filled with 
 charcoal may perhaps account for the sleepy state of some 
 people. I well remember the great gathering of clergy in 
 1835 to discuss the division of the Diocese of New York. Dr. 
 Proal became rector after Dr. Dorr, and remained twenty 
 years. He was a good man and a remarkable reader. The 
 first Sunday in the month all the children gathered in the body 
 of the church for afternoon service, and went forward, as we 
 said, to be catechised. No better or stronger churchmen were 
 ever trained than there. After the chapel was built, Sunday 
 School and week day services were held in it. At fourteen I 
 became a teacher. 
 
 The large families of Old Trinity were a pleasant sight, and 
 pleasant to recall. It was not respectable to> stay away from 
 church at that day, and whole families came, father, mother and 
 children — five children an ordinary number; but there 
 were many of seven, eight, and even ten children. Governor 
 Seymour's handsome face, sweet voice and courteous bear- 
 ing, is one of the agreeable memories of the old days. The 
 old bell must not be forgotten, as it not only called to church, 
 out warned of fires, lost children, and was rung at 9 A. M., 
 12 noon, and 9 P. M. Bishop Hobart's solemn sweet face, 
 Bishop Onderdonk's portly frame and resonant voice, Bishop 
 DeLancey, a noble man and perfect bishop, are all remem- 
 bered, as well as many noted visiting clergy, also over 300 or 
 more whom I can recall sitting in their places, the most of 
 whom have joined the silent majority, but whom I hope again 
 to see worshiping God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as 
 we learned to do in Old Trinity. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 85 
 
 LETTER FROM MR. ROBERT J. HUBBARD, CAZENOVIA, N. Y. 
 
 It was my privilege to worship in Old Trinity on the first 
 Sunday of this year; I think a century of sunshine and shadow, 
 and of earnest work for the cause of the Master, entitles it to 
 be called old. My memory of the church and its worshipers 
 goes back half of that period, and I see clearly in my mind's 
 eye the building as it then appeared. 
 
 I was baptized in the church in the first year of the minis- 
 tration of Dr. Proal, I think, and I attended there with my 
 parents until I left Utica about 1849. 
 
 In view of the coming centenary celebration, I am induced 
 to write you, and it may not be amiss for me to give you some 
 reminiscences and a picture of the building as it existed fifty 
 years ago. I presume, however, the ground has been fully 
 gone over by others who have data at hand, while I trust only 
 to memory. 
 
 The interior of the church was radically different from what 
 the eye rests upon now. The exterior is less changed. There 
 were formerly seven windows on each side. Alternate win- 
 dows were filled in, at a date I cannot recall, leaving four at 
 each side as at present shown. There were green blinds to 
 the windows, if I mistake not, for the glass was clear and in 
 square panes. The spire was always as graceful as it is now, 
 and the arrow, to show the direction of the wind, was con- 
 sidered of fine proportions. I have heard it said, rather in 
 sport than derision, that the weather vane on Trinity shifted 
 with "Every wind of doctrine." True! But it looked the evil 
 winds squarely in the teeth until they had blown passed, leav- 
 ing die church of which it was the titular guardian, stanch 
 and firm on its foundations as it at present stands. The Sun- 
 day School room or chapel formerly faced on Broad Street, at 
 the east side of the church. While the changes on the exterior 
 of the building have been but few, the interior, alas! has been 
 dispoiled of its ancient dignity. 
 
86 One Hundred Years of 
 
 The vestibule was ample, extending entirely across the front 
 of the building. There was a huge wood-stove here, and as a 
 boy, I used to go early to church in cold weather and get my 
 mother's foot stove from the pew and bring it to the vestibule 
 for fresh, live coals, which Mr. Archer, the sexton, had ready 
 in abundance. The bell rope hung down in the vestibule, and 
 sometimes I was allowed to pull it at the tolling of the bell, 
 much to my delight. 
 
 Two doors opened from the vestibule into the church. 
 There were but two aisles at the sides, just under the galleries. 
 
 The pews were straight in the back, and high. About half- 
 way down the aisles, at right angles to them, were others run- 
 ning to the side walls, so as to give a series of pews lengthwise 
 with the building. There were two of these aisles on each side, 
 and my father's was the wall pew, giving us a fine view of the 
 whole congregation. The gallery was over our heads, and at 
 that time extended to the rear wall of the building. The gal- 
 leries were fairly well filled with worshipers, and it was a treat 
 for the boys to be allowed to sit in them on occasion, and look 
 down on the congregation. 
 
 The color of the walls and wood work of the church was 
 white. 
 
 But now comes the most marvellous change from the 
 original! Formerly there was no chancel. The south wall of 
 the church was strikingly effective, and although such church 
 architecture was common a century ago, it can hardly be 
 found or recommended now. The pulpit, of the "candle-stick" 
 order, stood against the wall so* high up that the preacher 
 could cast his eyes along the occupants of the galleries. This 
 pulpit was entered by a small door through the rear wall, the 
 stairs being concealed. It was a mystery to the developing 
 mind of a child, how the minister in a white surplice should so 
 suddenly disappear and re-appear in the pulpit in a black 
 gown! 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 87 
 
 Below the pulpit was the reading desk, formed in a semi- 
 circle around its base, and below was the communion table, 
 surrounded by the chancel rail. 
 
 None of the paraphernalia now required in a modern sanct- 
 uary was visible. Without chancel, screen, altar or super- 
 altar, reredos, dorsel, candle-stick or gilded cross. Without 
 these and other important features, how should we get along 
 now? 
 
 There was communion but once a month, and the Sunday 
 immediately preceding, the solemn exhortation was invariably 
 read and generally in full. I am old-fashioned enough in my 
 notions to feel its helpfulness, and regret it has gone so much 
 out of use. The sermon too on the Sunday before the com- 
 munion was especially adapted to induce meditations during 
 the week on the spiritual comfort of the Lord's supper. 
 
 The gallery at the north end of the church, now so bare, 
 was filled with a remarkably fine organ, and the case was 
 something to be proud of. 
 
 I remember among other things of lesser note the chan- 
 deliers — the one that hung in the centre, in particular. It was 
 of crystal and very chaste. The lights were candles, I think. 
 The chain suspending it from the ceiling was something mar- 
 velous in my youthful eyes. So were the bright cushions, and 
 especially the tassels on desk and pulpit. 
 
 My picture would not be complete without re-inhabiting the 
 old building with worshipers. Alas! alas! it takes me back to 
 my youth, and in my memory it seems but as yesterday. 
 
 Bishop DeLancey was our spiritual head, and was a fre- 
 quent visitor at my father's house. The Reverend Dr. Rudd, 
 long editor of the "Gospel Messenger," was an attendant at 
 church, and the Rev. Pierre Alexis Proal, D. D., was our 
 Rector. 
 
 From the pew of my father, Thomas H. Hubbard, I could 
 see before me the congregation as it generally was, although 
 
88 One Hundred Years of 
 
 my memory may sometimes be at fault. There were, with 
 their families; Judge Hiram Denio, Dr. C. B. Coventry, Hiram 
 Greenman, Prof. Prentice, John A. Russ, Nicholas Devereux, 
 Henry Green, Joseph Shearman, John Green, Job Stafford, A. 
 G. Dauby, Rudolph Snyder, John Butterfield, A. B. Johnson, 
 George Green, Z. Lyon, E. A. Graham, P. Lyon, William 
 Baker, Thomas Hopper, J. J. Francis, Thomas Colling, Martin 
 Hart, E. B. Shearman, Alfred Munson, Dr. John McCall, 
 Montgomery Hunt, Judge Samuel Beardsley, Isaiah Tiffany, 
 Henry G. Hubbard, Col. John E. Hinman, Horatio Seymour, 
 J. S. Peekham, Frederick Hollister, John G. Floyd, Harvey 
 Barnard, Simeon Oley, Ami Dows, Roscoe Conkling, Judge 
 Aaron Hackley, Edward McVickar, the family of Com. 
 Woolsey, Ward Hunt, T. O. Grannis, Charles H. Doolittle, 
 Selden Collins, Montgomery Throop, M. Comstock, George 
 Bristol. 
 
 Some of these may be mis-placed, and there are others I 
 cannot recall, but it seems to me that the congregation was 
 large fifty years ago, and composed of many men of sterling 
 worth. 
 
 SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF THE RIGHT REVER- 
 END PHILANDER CHASE, LL.D., FIRST BISH- 
 OP OF OHIO AND ILLINOIS. 
 
 BY HIS SON, THE REV. DUDLEY CHASE, RETIRED CHAPLAIN, 
 U. S. A., PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 Unity in faith and fellowship, is one mark of the Catholic 
 Church. If one member is faithful should not all rejoice? 
 Nor should one be exalted to the disparagement of another, 
 not forgetting that it takes many soldiers to make an army, 
 and to God belongs the glory of accepted services. This in- 
 teresting occasion brings before me, among others, the name 
 of Philander Chase. As his son, I am, requested to give a few 
 
RT. REV. PHILANDER CHASE, L. L. D., 
 Founder of 'this Parish in /jgS. First Bislwp of Ohio and Illinois. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 89 
 
 personal recollections of him. Lest this should seem aimless 
 and unprofitable, let us give God the praise, and consider that 
 he was raised up as a fit instrument for a great work for the 
 extension of his church in this land. In this regard his his- 
 tory belongs to the east and to the west. I ask your atten- 
 tion in his case to special providences and special qualifications 
 for a great work in the then future, in the then far west. His 
 early ministry has a special interest to you, as the training 
 for it began here, as also it may be said of many others. In 
 the early days New York as a Diocese or City was the nur- 
 sery for the young soldiers of the cross. 
 
 A broken limb, a sick bed, was however painful, a special 
 providence to turn youthful desires and designs from pastoral 
 to spiritual life, and to serve God as a minister. A passing 
 missionary taking an interest in a student at college, leaves 
 with him a Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church, and he in 
 turn hands it to his venerable father as an answer to the ques- 
 tion, "Why have you changed your intention and my expecta- 
 tion that you should prepare for the ministry of the Congrega- 
 tional Church." The missive did its work; the seed bore fruit; 
 the large family were its first fruits, and these multiplied as 
 they did. Who can estimate the combined interest of that 
 simple venture of faith in spiritual good and growth during 
 the century past? 
 
 A would-be student of divinity, seeking for a theological 
 seminary, and finding none, after weary days of foot-travel, 
 re-crossing the Green Mountains of Vermont, and with but a 
 few shillings in his pocket, knocks at the door of the learned 
 and good Dr. Ellison of Albany, N. Y. That gentleman in 
 answering the knock searches the countenance of the youth. 
 "My name is Ellison and I crave yours." It was no timid soul 
 replied, "I seek advice in order to enter the ministry' of the 
 Episcopal Church." It was a warm heart that answered "God 
 bless you, walk in." 
 
90 One Hundred Years of 
 
 In both cases prayers and providence meet, and say this is a 
 God-sent opportunity, improve it. Was not this done with a 
 grateful heart and earnest zeal? The good Doctor offered 
 free use of his library and his valuable advice and instruction 
 in theological studies, and moreover his influence in procuring 
 the position as teacher in the city school with salary. As 
 Deacon the youth now becomes a missionary in Western New 
 York under the broad seal of Bishop Provoost; and a whole 
 year is passed in such labors, mostly on horse back. During 
 his journeys Utica is reached, and as far south as the Dela- 
 ware River, and as far west as Auburn. But here he found 
 no road or inhabitant beyond the Wanta Plains to the Niagara 
 River. The year's travel ended at Poughkeepsie, where he was 
 called as rector. Here he resided for six years, and added 
 to his duties by teaching a school. As school teacher 
 and missionary- in the new settlement, in New York, was he 
 not being prepared for more extensive similar duties in the 
 far west? In response to a call for ministers of the Episcopal 
 Church from New Orleans, Bishop Moore appointed Philan- 
 der Chase, and there under the auspices of the Diocese of New 
 York Christ Church, New Orleans, was duly organized by 
 his efforts, and he remained their rector six years. There 
 /also, in consequence of the wreck of all his effects in transit 
 by sea, financial embarassments led him to organize a school 
 for boys and girls, and this he maintained during his residence 
 there, to large profit financially to himself and to vastly more 
 spiritual profit to his pupils, as years afterwards was manifest 
 when he visited the planters' families in Mississippi and Louis- 
 iana. Returning north he became rector of Christ Church, 
 Hartford, and remained with them six years, to 1817. Of 
 this period of years, he says, "In the bosom of an enlightened 
 society, softened by the hand of urbanity and gentleness, my 
 engagements crowned with abundance of temporal bless- 
 ings, were as numerous and refined as fall in the lot of 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 91 
 
 man." Was it not of the Spirit of God that during his year 
 here there came over the lakes and mountains and through 
 the forests of Ohio from the scattered sheep of Christ the cry 
 "come over and help us." 
 
 Hence that wanderer's journey, that perilous venture from 
 point to point on the ice of Lake Erie. Those three months 
 on horse back from the northeast corner of the State of Ohio 
 to the extreme southwest through the forest, and over the 
 unbridged streams, visiting all the prominent places and very 
 many hamlets, preaching the word of God. and organizing 
 parishes, and then resolving to make that land of promise, 
 as he called it, his future home, for had not the few faithful 
 ministers and members received him as one sent of God to 
 cheer their drooping hearts and soon recognized him as 
 being by nature and grace a leader of men, and therefore 
 chose him for their Bishop of the Church of God. To fulfill 
 this end he must needs mount again the faithful horse, and 
 proceed over the rivers and mountains in the dead of win- 
 ter from Columbus, Ohio, to Philadelphia, Pa., where in due 
 order, with some painful delay, he was consecrated Bishop 
 by the hands of the venerable Bishop White, Bishops 
 Hobart, Kemp and Croes being present and assisting, in 
 the old St. James Church, Philadelphia, on the nth day of 
 February, 1819. On his return it took a week to reach Pitts- 
 burg, and the ice and slippery roads disabled the horse, and 
 caused its exchange for a younger and stronger one. I can- 
 not now of course fully follow in such a brief sketch his life 
 and labors during the fourteen years of his Episcopacy in 
 Ohio, or the seventeen in Illinois, which succeeded, but I 
 have led your thoughts down to the very earliest period of 
 my personal recollections of him. 
 
 I shall first recollect a circumstance somewhat isolated in 
 my memory. We were traveling to Cincinnati through the 
 dense forests. We were coming to a village on July 4, and 
 
92 One Hundred Years of 
 
 as we passed through we saw men carousing and fighting. 
 The bishop said we will drive on. Salmon P. Chase, then a 
 student and inmate of the bishop's house, the bishop's wife, 
 and Rev. Dr. Sparrow were in the wagon. We continued 
 on through the village, and came to a place where the road 
 was impassable. We went into the mud and ruts, and down 
 ,we went on the right side. The bishop and the young men 
 had to jump in the mud and release the horse. Salmon Chase 
 cut a pole and pried up the wagon, and Dr. Sparrow was told 
 to go on and feel the road for the horse to follow. Soi we 
 went on. By and by we saw a light, and never did one look 
 more welcome. There was a warm-hearted farmer there 
 who was willing to take in some dirty guests. The excite- 
 ment of the trip made the bishop sick. But that was only 
 an adventure. 
 
 His Work in the West. 
 
 When we lived in Cincinnati the bishop went to England 
 to obtain money to build a divinity school for those who 
 lived in the woods of Ohio. Bishop Hobart said he would 
 .oppose him, as it was not necessary to build a school in 
 Ohio. Christians, however, come together after God has tried 
 them. Bishop Chase returned with $30,000. He waited 
 two years before the committee could locate that school. 
 They gave nothing in Ohio; even no location for the school. 
 At Zanesville the bishop met Miss Reed, a good woman, 
 who offered him 1,000 acres of land for a seminary site. She 
 had confidence in the bishop. The deed was made out, and 
 the land given to him in trust. The bishop invited the 
 woodsmen to come to a chopping bee. He said he could 
 chop ten acres at once. The chopping bee was opened with 
 prayer, and the choppers were organized in platoons. For 
 two or three days I was present and saw the trees chopped 
 down and burned to ashes. The committee said the seminary 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y . 93 
 
 should be placed away from, the cities, or the bishop would re- 
 ceive no money. Then he was offered 8,000 acres of land 
 where Kenyon College now stands, and the committee could 
 only accept it. The bishop mortgaged his farm for all it 
 was worth, and the country was opened for the seminary. 
 Every winter he went east for money; but did Ohio rise to 
 his assistance? They said he was a tyrant; but did they 
 come and. offer him assistance? He gave all the means he 
 had for that work. 
 
 Then he went to Wellington and became president of the 
 school. Then he went to a place called the "end of the road," 
 and then to Michigan, where he bought a farm with money 
 which his brother had given him. I was then sent to col- 
 lege. 
 
 Once he went to Chester, 111., on the Mississippi river. 
 One Sunday morning a man visited him and said he was an 
 atheist, and wanted to argue atheism. The man said the 
 bishop had baptized him, and then the bishop gave him a 
 combing down. He wept and broke down, and finally said 
 he had no argument about atheism. When the bishop had 
 a good cause he pressed it to the utmost. The bishop never 
 tfold a story but he drove the nail home. The bishop had 
 one good habit ; he would thrust the Bible home to individuals. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Chase then exhibited three relics of his father, 
 which he highly prizes. One was the official seal of Bishop 
 Provoost to the ordination certificate of Bishop Chase, signed 
 in 1799, and the other was the consecration paper of the 
 bishop, signed by Bishops William White, John H. Hobart, 
 J. A. Kemp and John Croes, dated February 11, 1819. Both 
 documents were well preserved. The other was a prayer 
 book, dated 1841, which was used by the bishop from that 
 date until his death. Then it came in possession of his son. 
 The prayer book, Rev. Mr. Chase said, had a history. Near 
 
94 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Galena, 111., the bishop had to ford a stream, and the bishop, 
 in his wagon, was soaked. The bishop opened his trunk, 
 and everything in it was soaked but the prayer book. The 
 prayer book was saved by being lifted up by the air in the 
 trunk. The speaker said he had carried the prayer book 
 ever since the bishop's death. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF TRINITY CHURCH. 
 
 BY DR. MOSES M. BAGG, UTICA, N. Y. 
 
 For the honor done me in asking me to take part in the 
 exercises pertaining to the celebration of the Centenary of 
 Trinity Church, I am truly grateful, especially as I have never 
 borne other relation to the church than that of occasional at- 
 tendance on its services, and have no other qualification en- 
 titling me to the privilege of addressing you than a partial 
 knowledge of its early history, and my own survival of the 
 vast majority of those, who* if living, would have more natural- 
 ly been called on for words of congratulation and sympathy. 
 
 My earliest reminiscence of the church dates from the era 
 of the abandonment of the Mohawk, and the substitution of 
 the canal as a channel for navigation through the middle of 
 the State. It was about this time that I remember to have 
 seen a large boat dragged laboriously through the mud along 
 the western side of this building, in the course of its transfer 
 from the river to the canal. But this was not until after a 
 generation of citizens had already been made familiar with the 
 building and its surroundings. 
 
 The beginning of the parish organization dates from 1798, 
 when the Episcopalians of the hamlet were gathered into a 
 society by a missionary of the church, then temporarily resi- 
 dent, who persuaded them to meet every Sunday, and to have 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 95 
 
 read to them by a layman, sermons and the prayers of the 
 Church. His counsel was followed, and meetings were held 
 in the school-house on Main Street, occupied in turn by the 
 denominations of the village. The movement toward the erec- 
 tion of an edifice of their own, its construction and dedication, 
 the engagement of a rector, as well as subsequent chapters in 
 its history, I leave to be treated in detail by others more famil- 
 iar with the story than I am. 
 
 We cannot fail to be impressed as we learn of the serious 
 embarassments encountered during the earlier years of the 
 parish, of the arduous labors of the rectors who would seem 
 to have been cumbered with more missionary work outside 
 of the parish than they experienced within it, with the trials of 
 the congregation compelled to occupy a building which was 
 but half finished, and unattractive, in the winter seasons so 
 comfortless as to oblige them to go elsewhere to worship, 
 and to depend for their music on a hand organ managed by its 
 maker. 
 
 Of the characteristics of Trinity during its long continued 
 existence, I have but a few words to say. The unbroken har- 
 mony, the sedate and peaceful dignity with which its affairs 
 have been conducted have been a marked feature in its career, 
 a contrast with that of some of the congregations of Utica and 
 its vicinity. Few disturbing elements have arisen, whether 
 from within or without, to break the even tenor of its ways, 
 or if any nave existed, it has been unknown to our people at 
 large. The rectors have been faithful in the discharge of their 
 duties, the members of the parish have been true to their rec- 
 tors, considerate of the obligations due them, and mindful of 
 the instruction imparted. While the society was young and 
 few in numbers, it has shared with other societies of the town 
 and county in charitable and religious enterprises designed for 
 the public good. When its numbers increased, and their 
 
gG One Hundred Years of 
 
 means were greater, they have felt it their duty to embark in 
 charities of their own. The leading officers of the Oneida 
 County Bible Society, which had its origin in 1810, were found 
 alike among the Episcopalians and the adherents of other de- 
 "nominations. Not more than a year or two had elapsed be- 
 fore the former had a Bible Society of their own, as wide in 
 its range, and as energetic in purpose as the first had been. 
 The Utica Orphan Society, begun by ladies of various sects, 
 and fostered by the general care, was favored ere long by one 
 who had been a member of Trinity, with an endowment that 
 exceeded all previous donations. In schemes for educational 
 advancement, for progress in missions, in biblical instruction 
 of the young, and in encouragement of associations among 
 them to stimulate religious activity and conduct, a like gen- 
 erous rivalry has been manifest. Though the present remote- 
 ness of Trinity from very many of its former parishioners has 
 caused it serious loss, there is rapidly growing on its eastern 
 and south-eastern borders a population which needs its min- 
 istrations, and cannot fail to prolong its healthful influence. 
 
 SOME PROMINENT LAYMEN OF TRINITY 
 CHURCH. 
 
 WRITTEN BY MISS BLANDINA D. MILLER, UTICA, N. T., AND 
 READ BY MR. GEORGE M. WEAVER, JUNIOR WAR- 
 DEN OF THE PARISH. 
 
 The year 1798 was destined to be forever memorable in the 
 annals of Utica. By an Act which passed the Legislature on 
 the fifteenth of March, 1798, Oneida was set off from Herki- 
 mer County, and on the third of April of the same year, the 
 little village which had hitherto held the historic name of Fort 
 Schuyler was incorporated and received its first charter under 
 the name of Utica. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 97 
 
 If current records may be credited, we were trebly defrauded 
 of historic names; not only were the people required to give 
 up a name so high in honor throughout the State, but the 
 proposed names of Skenondo and Washington were also re- 
 jected. As many of the early settlers were from England the 
 name of Kent was proposed and so strongly advocated that it 
 doubtless would have been adopted but for the untimely ridi- 
 cule of a citizen by the name of Little who afterwards drowned 
 himself. A feeling of regret rises spontaneously that this event 
 had not preceded the meeting to settle upon a name for this 
 small village. 
 
 In this year of 1798 in faith and humility were laid the 
 foundations of the Parish of Trinity Church. A link was 
 added to the chain which would connect this hamlet with the 
 broader church life in New York City, and which would bring 
 up into this almost unknown territory many distinguished men 
 among our Bishops and Clergy, whose influence and teach- 
 ings were to have no small share in molding the lives and 
 forming the characters of our people. For the birth place of 
 this honored parish we must leave the pleasant shaded precincts 
 of Broad Street, and entering Main Street between First 
 and Second Streets, seek on the south side for a large wooden 
 building, which has seen the beginnings of both church and 
 educational life in Utica. Originally built for a school it was 
 used on alternate Sundays for religious services by both Pres- 
 byterians and Episcopalians. The pulpit consisted of a slab or 
 shelf of wood at the eastern end of the building. The seats 
 were actual slabs of rough boards without any backs, and 
 resting on legs inserted in auger holes, a few of them were a 
 little more carefully finished. The room was very imperfectly 
 heated by a box stove, the counterpart of the one which stood 
 for many years in front of the Roberts' store at the corner of 
 Broad and Genesee Streets. In this building was held the first 
 services of Trinity Church. 
 
98 One Hundred Years of 
 
 In 1798 the Rev. Philander Chase, afterwards Bishop of Il- 
 linois, was missionary for all this region, and in the course of 
 his travels stopped at the little village of Utica, where the 
 stumps of the original forest trees were still standing in the 
 three streets (if streets they could be called when only two 
 were fenced out), Genesee, Main and Whitesboro. He was 
 courteously received by Colonel Benjamin Walker, who was 
 then living in a small tenement house, previous to building at 
 the eastern end of Broad Street, the house which was for many 
 years the most luxuriously equipped mansion in this vicinity. 
 To his high military honors as a member of General Washing- 
 ton's staff and aid-de-camp to Baron Von Steuben, must now 
 be added the fame of having been the first and most generous 
 patron of Trinity Church. An Englishman by birth, a pew 
 owner and communicant of Trinity Church in New York City, 
 he was strongly attached to the mother Church, and it was 
 owing to his timely aid and encouragement that the Parish 
 under the name of the Rector and Wardens of Trinity Church, 
 Utica, was now organized. But for some years the few Church 
 of England people met, without any clergyman, and read for 
 themselves the familiar petitions and prayers of their Liturgy. 
 
 If proof were needed of the deep, earnest feeling which per- 
 vades every line of our incomparable Prayer Book, or the true 
 value of a form of devotion, none more striking could be given 
 than an instance like this, and no better refutation of the 
 charge that its Litanies are merely cold and formal "vain re- 
 petitions." To these English Christians the well known pray- 
 ers came like a voice from home in a strange land; and the 
 fact that the Church was henceforth to form a part of their 
 new home doubtless served to attract and retain many of our 
 best settlers. 
 
 In 1803, the Presbyterians who had shared the use of the 
 building on Sundays with our people decided to call the Rev. 
 Bethuel Dodd from Whitesboro to assume permanent charge 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 99 
 
 and hold two services every Sunday. This threw the little con- 
 gregation into temporary difficulties, and it was not until 1803 
 that definite steps were taken towards building a church of 
 their own. Rutger Bleecker of Albany, one of the four origin- 
 al purchasers of Cosby Manor, which includes the tract where 
 the City of Utica now stands, had promised to give the site 
 for the first church that should be built. On the 24th of May, 
 1803, a meeting was held, and Col. Walker, Abram Walton 
 and William Inman were appointed a committee to solicit sub- 
 scriptions, and raised over two thousand dollars towards the 
 building of a church whose cost was estimated at four thou- 
 sand dollars, and which was designed by the architect Philip 
 Hooker of Albany, the builder of the old Capitol, the Albany 
 Female Academy, and other stately structures. Certainly this 
 was a generous amount when the small population of Utica at 
 that time is considered. In 1798, Dr. Dwight estimated the 
 number of houses in the village at fifty. In 1801 the popula- 
 tion was two hundred souls. In 1804, Dr. Dwight found one 
 hundred and twenty houses, and a long train of merchant 
 stores and other buildings. In 1793, five years before the 
 founding of the Parish, Jason Parker's stage coach brought 
 six letters to the people in old Fort Schuyler in one day, a fact 
 which could scarcely be credited until vouched for by the vera- 
 cious Dutch postmaster, John Post. 
 
 The list of the original subscribers to Trinity Church pre- 
 sents such a remarkable array of the men who were very 
 prominently associated with the history of early Utica, that it 
 has seemed of more value to gather some of the striking events 
 in their lives from the different historical records of City and 
 County, and from the lips of those still living among us, whose 
 memories of the past are still fresh and vivid, than to attempt 
 a cursory glance of the whole century of her existence. 
 
 The subscription list embraces the names among others of 
 B. Walker, $250; Abraham M. Walton, $200; William Inman, 
 
ioo One Hundred Years of 
 
 $150; Bryan Johnson, $150; John Smith, $125; Jeremiah Van 
 Renselear, $50; John Post, $50; Samuel Hooker, $50; James 
 A. Bloodgood, $50; John Schwartz, $25; Silas Hamlin, $20; 
 James Hopper, $100; Aylmer Johnson, $100; Mathew Codd, 
 $100; Nathan Williams, $100; John C. Devereux, $100; John 
 Hooker, $50; Hugh White, $50; Peter Smith, $50; Jonas Piatt, 
 $25; Thomas R. Gold, $25; Ch. C. Broadhead, $25; William 
 Inman for W. R., $25; Charles L. Pratt, $20; Wm. G. Tracy, 
 $20; A. Johnson for H. O., $10; John Curtis, $12.50; Amos 
 Brenson, $10; David Trowbridge, $10; Frederic White, $10; 
 Amos Eggleston, $10; Marcus Hitchcock, $20; Nathan But- 
 ler, $20; Charles Walton, $20; Hugh White, Jr., $10; Elizur 
 Mosely, $10; Preserved Hickox, $10; P. S. Soillon, $5; Thom- 
 as Jones, $5, the total amount subscribed was $2,067.50. With 
 this amount subscribed and the lot given, Col. Walker, Mr. 
 Inman and Judge Nathan Williams accepted the plans de- 
 signed by Samuel and John Hooker, and in June, 1803, the 
 building was commenced, to proceed until the subscriptions 
 were exhausted, when it was hoped, with the aid of further 
 subscriptions, and gifts from Trinity Church in New York, it 
 might be completed. The lot was 100 feet on Broad Street, 
 and 127 feet deep. The church as originally built stood back 
 in the field or lot, and was entered through what was called 
 Church Lane, now First Street, by taking down the bars of a 
 fence that enclosed the whole lot. Corn was at times planted 
 in the yard, and the approach to the door of the church was 
 through a leafy lane of Indian corn. On a village map in 1806, 
 Trinity Church is represented as standing quite alone in the 
 rear of some houses on Main Street. Broad Street was not 
 laid out until 1808, and this rural church might well have been 
 called Trinity-in-the-fields. Its first Wardens were Abraham 
 Walton and Nathan, afterwards Judge Williams. 
 
 The first Vestrymen were William Inman, Charles Walton, 
 John Smith, Benjamin Walker, Samuel Hooker, Aylmer John- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 101 
 
 son, James Hopper, Edward Smith. Their successors were 
 worthy to succeed them. The list includes name after name 
 'of men pre-eminent in the various walks of life in the little 
 village, and later in the City of Utica, while some of them be- 
 longed to the history of our country. As the eye rests on the 
 names of Thomas Hubbard, Montgomery Hunt, Samuel 
 Beardsley, Augustus G. Dauby, Ward Hunt, Henry Seymour, 
 and his son Horatio Seymour, Hiram Denio, Charles B. 
 Coventry, Morris S. Miller, and his son Rutger D. Miller, 
 Thomas R. Colling, John E. Hinman, Ziba Lyon, John J. 
 Francis, Hugh Crocker, Selden Collins, Van Vechten Living- 
 ston, Henry Green, John G. Markiove, James M. Weed, Miles 
 C. Comstock and Edmund A. Graham, it will be seen how 
 many active, useful citizens, as well as men of brilliant talents, 
 have been identified with this Church. From its very begin- 
 ning it has been most fortunate in the character and ability 
 of its laymen; who, amid the manifold duties and occupations 
 incident to life in a new settlement, did not neglect the claims 
 of their church. Its first Warden, Abraham Walton, was de- 
 scended from a family prominent in New York City, and was 
 himself a lawyer practicing there in 1791. On coming to Utica 
 he took charge of a tract of land in Schuyler, on the borders 
 of Deerfield, known as Walton's Patent. In 1801 he lived on 
 a farm of nearly one hundred and fifty acres about three quar- 
 ters of a mile east of Deerfield Corners. His brother Charles 
 was associated in business with him, and the two brothers in 
 1804 purchased for $6,650, the 250 acres at "Salt Point" near 
 Syracuse. Abraham Walton's wife was the beautiful daugh- 
 ter of Samuel Graham of Westchester. He, his wife and child 
 are all buried in a small plot that once formed a part of the 
 estate. 
 
 Nathan Williams, the junior W T arden of the Parish, was an 
 active, influential man, whose name deserves always to be held 
 in honor in the annals of Utica. Coming here from Troy in 
 
102 One Hundred Years of 
 
 1797, where he had been its first Postmaster, he was one of 
 the earliest settlers, and entered heartily into the work of ad- 
 vancing and improving the village in every possible way; he 
 was one of the founders of a well-selected public library, and 
 for a time served as librarian. When Trinity Church was 
 formed he became its active steadfast friend, and at one time 
 of financial difficulty mortgaged his own house on Whitesboro 
 Street to raise money for the church building fund. As an 
 honest lawyer, he had the reputation of advising his clients, 
 whenever possible, to avoid law suits. As counsel for the 
 Oneida Indians he won from them the striking name of "Up- 
 right Friend." His public offices were many. President of the 
 village, President of the Manhattan Bank, District Attorney, 
 Representative in Congress, Member of Assembly, member of 
 the Convention of 1821 for the reform of the Constitution. A 
 few months before his death he was appointed Clerk of the 
 Supreme Court, and moved to Geneva, where his life ended 
 September 25, 1835. His handsome house on Whitesboro 
 Street, at the foot of Seneca Street, was the first brick house 
 built in Utica, and was for years the hospitable home of the 
 Bishops and clergy of our Church, when occasion required. 
 Five generations of his descendants lived within the walls of 
 this house. All of his eleven children were true and faithful 
 sons and daughters of the Church. 
 
 One of them, James Watson Williams, rendered active effi- 
 cient service as layman and vestryman in Trinity Church, and 
 was one of the zealous promoters of the new Parish of Grace 
 Church at its formation in 1837. Hobart Williams became a 
 useful clergyman, while to mention the names of Mrs. David 
 Wager, Mrs. Rathern, Mrs. Theodore Dimon is to recall 
 gentlewomen who were always zealous in the charities and 
 good work of their mother Church. Thomas Williams was 
 long a member of the choir, when Thomas Hastings drilled 
 the twenty-five or thirty members. Conspicuous among them 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 103 
 
 were also Henry Green, Henry Sanger who played the flute, 
 and James Lynch, the violin, and the music was considered 
 excellent. Another subscriber, William Inman, who was 
 elected Warden in 1806, came from England in 1792, and had 
 charge of large estates. He was a native of Somersetshire, 
 England, and in early life had been a clerk of Lord Pultney. 
 On coming to America he was entrusted with the interests of 
 certain Europeans, prominent among whom were Patrick 
 Colquehoun, High Sheriff of London; for whom he purchased 
 in trust the tract called Inman Triangle, including the towns 
 of Leyden and Lewis in Lewis County, N. Y. He removed to 
 New York in 1813, and as a merchant met with heavy reverses; 
 his last home was in Leyden, Lewis County, where he died 
 February 14, 1843, at tne a g" e of eighty-one years. His first 
 residence here was in the picturesque cottage under noble 
 over shadowing elms on the north side of the Whitesboro road 
 just beyond the canal bridge, which always attracts the atten- 
 tion of the passerby for its air of cozy comfort. Later on he 
 built the large square brick mansion on the southern side of 
 the Whitesboro road, which still stands at the corner of 
 Champlin Street, as a specimen of a handsome old-fashioned 
 house. Here Mr. Inman, having an ample fortune, led the 
 life of a country gentleman, well-versed in literature, and fond 
 of books. He rode about our village streets and lanes in a 
 heavy English carriage, and wore powdered hair, with short 
 clothes and knee buckles. Of his four sons, three distin- 
 guished themselves in their different callings. William rose to 
 the rank of Commodore in the navy, commanded two of the 
 boats that captured a pirate vessel off the coast of Cuba in 
 1823, served on the lakes in the war of 1812-15, and was at 
 the head of a squadron on the coast of Africa in 1851. John 
 Inman became editor successively of the "Spirit of the Times," 
 the "New York Mirror," the "Commercial Advertiser," and 
 the "Columbian Gazette," and contributed to other periodicals 
 
104 One Hundred Years of 
 
 of the day. Henry Inman took a high rank among our Ameri- 
 can artists, and became Vice President of the National Aca- 
 demy of Design. His miniatures were considered excellent, 
 while among his best efforts on portraits were Bishop White, 
 Chief Justice Marshall, and Boyhood of Washington. Samuel 
 Hooker, the son of the architect of the Church, served as 
 Vestryman from' 1804 until 1808, when he was elected War- 
 den, a post which he filled until 1826. He has left the reputa- 
 tion of being an honest, industrious, upright man. He came 
 to Utica about 1791 under the auspices of the Holland Land 
 Company to build for them the York House on Whitesboro 
 Street, which was then the largest hotel building this side of 
 New York City ; and although far too large for our village, was 
 rendered necessary by the increasing stream of settlers, who 
 began to pour into this rich region of Western New York. 
 Mr. Hooker came here from Albany, where his son Philip was 
 the architect of the original church of St. Peter's in State 
 Street. A photograph of old St. Peter's shows that Trinity 
 Church was designed on very similar lines. Samuel Hooker 
 with his son John conducted a thriving business here for many 
 years, until his death in 1832 at the age of 86. James Cochran, 
 who served as W r arden from 1826 to 1827 was the son of Sur- 
 geon General John Cochran of the Revolutionary War. He 
 married his cousin, Gertrude Schuyler, the youngest daugh- 
 ter of Gen. Philip Schuyler of Albany. 
 
 Rudolph Snyder, vestryman from 1827 to 1838, was the son 
 of a Hollander who came to New York and became a ship- 
 ping merchant, where in 1778 Rudolph was born. Destined 
 by his father for the ministry, his own preference was for the 
 study of medicine; and the two strong wills of father and son 
 failing to agree, young Snyder was withdrawn from Kings 
 (or Columbia) College before graduating, and went into busi- 
 ness with his father in Albany, where he married Esther 
 Barneveldt Storm of Easton, Pennsylvania. After coming 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 105 
 
 to Utica he became a trustee of the village, and was twice its 
 President. He was also a Commissioner of its Schools and 
 President of the Mechanics' Association; his education and 
 tastes led him to spend much time in self-improvement, while 
 his strong sense and practical talents made him a valuable 
 member of the community. His adopted daughter, Mrs. 
 James Madison Weed, was long an active member of this 
 Parish. Third on the list of original subscribers stands the 
 name of Bryan Johnson, who came here as a merchant from 
 England in 1797, and established himself on Whitesboro Street 
 near where Division Street now extends. In 1809 his son 
 Alexander came over, and from that time both father and son 
 were marked people in the streets of the little village. Almost 
 inseparable companions, the father a hale vigorous man with 
 flowing silvery hair leaning on the arm of his son, dressed with 
 the utmost care, and wearing the conspicuous short breeches 
 and silk stockings, they presented a picture never to be for- 
 gotten. The names of both father and son appear among the 
 Wardens and Vestrymen. This coming summer will witness 
 the disappearance from Genesee Street of the familiar house 
 known as the Johnson Place, which is to make way for the new- 
 Savings Bank Building. Continuing down the list we find 
 the name of James Van Rensselaer, a member of the firm' of 
 Kane and Van Rensselaer, which was identified with the early- 
 history of the village. Connected by marriage with the family 
 of the Kents they were associated with the Great Chancellor 
 Kent, and related in more recent times to the arctic explorer,. 
 Elisha Kent Kane. Mr. Van Rensselaer's store was on the 
 eastern side of Genesee Street, a little north of Broad Street,, 
 and was graced by the sign of the eagle. When Broad Street 
 was laid out in 1808 it became necessary to move the store 
 half way round ; w r hich was accomplished by balancing the 
 building on a cannon ball as a pivot, and swinging it half way 
 7 
 
106 One Hundred Years of 
 
 round into place. John Post has the glory of having built the 
 first frame house in Fort Schuyler, and probably in the County. 
 Log houses were much in vogue at this time. His store was 
 on the north-west corner of Genesee and Whitesboro Streets 
 adjoining his house, and was more like an Indian agency than 
 our modern idea of a store. Furs and Ginseng were brought 
 here in large quantities by the Indians, and exchanged for 
 blankets, powder and shot, spirits, beads and other Indian nec- 
 essaries. It was not unusual for thirty or forty Indians to 
 camp around the store at night, or if very cold to sleep close 
 to the blazing fire which roared up the wide mouthed chimney. 
 
 James Bloodgood was the son of Alderman Bloodgood of 
 Albany, and established a hardware store directly next to John 
 Post's store on Genesee Street in 1805. 
 
 James Hopper was an English sea captain in the service of 
 the merchant marine. In the war with France his ship was 
 captured, and he himself carried a prisoner to France, where 
 he was afterwards exchanged with a brother officer for Ad- 
 miral and Marshall Junot, who was captured in Egypt. Gen. 
 Alexander Hamilton is said to have induced him to come to 
 this part of the State; he purchased large tracts of land in the 
 southern part of the city, where a street is named for him, and. 
 lived here until his death in 18 id. Mrs. McClure, George 
 Hopper and Thomas Hopper were his children. 
 
 Matthew Codd made himself unpleasantly known to fame 
 as a quarrelsome Irishman of large stature, and in addition to 
 this as the husband of Martha Bradstreet, a daughter of John 
 Bradstreet, one of the four original proprietors of Cosby 
 Manor, whose perpetual law suit against the city associated 
 her with such distinguished lawyers as Aaron Burr, John O. 
 Van Ness, David B. Ogden, and our Daniel Webster. Many 
 of these trials were held before Judge Alfred Conkling, Judge 
 John Savage and Judge Sutherland. Mrs. Codd, or Martha 
 Bradstreet, as she preferred calling herself after her separation 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 107 
 
 from her belligerent husband, was always present at these 
 trials; having become quite a good lawyer herself, she fre- 
 quently gave advice to her counsel openly in Court, thus caus- 
 ing much amusement. 
 
 The name of John C. Devereux upon the subscription list, 
 recalls memories of an upright warm-hearted citizen who, 
 coming to Utica in its early days entered heartily into its so- 
 cial and mercantile life, and left a spotless name for integrity 
 and praiseworthy zeal in promoting all the best interests of the 
 village. He gave liberally to every church as it was started, 
 and gathered the members of his own faith in the parlors of 
 his house, for Mass, when as yet they were too feeble a folk to 
 have a church building of their own. His home was for many 
 years the large cheerful house on the corner of Broad and First 
 Street, afterwards so well known as the Hubbell Homestead. 
 The gift of fifty dollars from John Hooker, the architect, was 
 a generous one, as was also the same amount from Hugh 
 White of Whitestown, and Peter Smith, the Indian agent and 
 interpreter. Hugh White, the head of the little colony of 
 fifteen souls who constituted the first plantation of Puritans 
 oustide of New England in our State, has written his name in 
 fair characters through all this region, and no name is more 
 deserving of honor. 
 
 Peter Smith was one of the very earliest settlers in Fort 
 Schuyler, and as Indian trader and interpreter was familiar 
 with all this wild region before any permanent settlement was 
 established. Both he and his son Gerret Smith were at differ- 
 ent times members of the Presbyterian Church, and not at any 
 time identified with Trinity, except as subscribers to its build- 
 ing fund. 
 
 Jonas Piatt was the pioneer lawyer of the State west of 
 Johnstown. Coming to Whitesboro at the age of 21 he rose 
 to great eminence in the County and State. When Herkimer 
 County was organized in 1790 he was appointed to the office 
 
108 One Hundred Years of 
 
 of County Clerk, and kept the records for seven years at his 
 office in Whitesboro. When Oneida County was formed in 
 1798 Mr. Piatt became the Clerk of the new County, still 
 keeping the office and records in Whitesboro. He was also the 
 first Congressman who lived in what is now Oneida County, 
 and in 1814 was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court, and 
 was a member of the Constitutional convention of 1821. 
 
 Thomas R. Gold was another prominent lawyer and State 
 Senator. The firm of Gold & Sill was well known throughout 
 the State. Young lawyers or law students from all parts of 
 the State flocked hither to receive the benefit of their instruc- 
 tions. It is said that at one time no less than thirty students 
 were enrolled on their list, many of whom afterwards became 
 prominent at the bar. The household of Mr. Gold contributed 
 largely to the refined and pleasant hospitality for which 
 Whitestown was famous at that time, and whose echoes linger 
 there still. 
 
 Charles C. Broadhead came to old Fort Schuyler in 1797, 
 and was an active engineer and surveyor. His career presents 
 a vivid picture of life on this frontier at that time. Appointed 
 surveyor of the famous Castorland Company, his work took 
 him into the Northern wilderness, where his life was once 
 threatened by the tomahawk of a savage Indian, and saved by 
 the intervention of a friendly one. Mistaking the crossing of 
 the Black River at Lyon's Falls his raft was swept over the 
 high falls. He was carried into the swirl of a foaming eddy, 
 and dragged senseless to the shore by the Indians, while his 
 friend Mondrew Pharoux, one of the principals of the Com- 
 pany, was swept over the falls and drowned. In 1800 Govern- 
 or Jay appointed him Sheriff, and in that capacity he was re- 
 quired to act at the first execution in Oneida County. The 
 criminal was an Indian from Brotherton, convicted of killing 
 his wife; and the execution took place on a hill west of Whites- 
 boro, in the presence of a vast crowd. Dominie Kirkland 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 109 
 
 stood close by the criminal, and offered fervent prayers in the 
 Indian language, while hymns were sung by several Indian 
 men in their own tongue. The St. Regis Indians adopted Mr. 
 Broadhead as a member of their own tribe, and gave him a 
 name descriptive of his power in running lines. The most 
 difficult part of the survey of the Erie Canal from Albany to 
 Rome was put into his hands, and although some of his work 
 was disputed, time fully justified the accuracy of his state- 
 ments. The Bleecker heirs employed him to make a map of 
 their property in the limits of the City of Utica; it was care- 
 fully and skillfully done, and no document in the County 
 Clerk's Office is more constantly consulted than this map, filed 
 in 181 1. In 1817 he ran the lines of the town of Utica when 
 it was set off from Whitestown, which was his last public work. 
 Previously to this Simeon DeWitt had appointed him Deputy 
 Surveyor of the State. Important surveys, negotiations and 
 treaties with the Indians were conducted by him with rare 
 skill and ability. His long life was full of contrasts. Naturally 
 social in his tastes, he was in younger life a favorite guest 
 around the fireside of many of the pleasant households of old 
 Utica; but with advancing years he grew moody and irritable, 
 and as one friend after another died out of his circle he lived 
 apart in lonely isolation until he died in 1852 a lonely old man 
 of eighty years. He was a member of the Presbyterian and 
 Diitch Reformed Churches, and his donation to Trinity 
 Church probably grew out of his personal friendship for some 
 of its members. 
 
 William G. Tracey was one of the earliest merchants of 
 Whitesboro, and its second postmaster. His sons Charles and 
 William Tracey became prominent lawyers in both Utica and 
 New York. His house still stands on Main Street in Whites- 
 boro, opposite the street called by his name. 
 
 The next subscriber, Frederic White, has left an advertise- 
 ment which presents a vivid picture of the contents of a store 
 
no One Hundred Years of 
 
 on the frontier at that time. It reads: "My new hat and gro- 
 cery store has on hand six hundred castor roram hats (what- 
 ever these might have been), and two hundred knapt and felt 
 hats, also liquors, groceries, nails, crockery, and a few dozen 
 of Webster's first and third spellers, all of which will be sold 
 for wheat, pot or pearl ashes, or on approved credit." 
 
 Dr. Marcus Hitchcock was a physician who opened a drug 
 store and dispensed catarrhal snuff and various patent medi- 
 cines, some of which he invented himself; his store was at 38 
 Genesee Street, just above Whitesboro Street, and here he 
 kept the Post Office from about 1804 to 1828. His office may 
 be said to have been the beginning of club life in Utica. As 
 the time for the arrival of the mail approached, it was the 
 gathering place of all the men of the village and the adjacent 
 country. Here all the village oracles and sages exploited their 
 wisdom; here appointments were made, bargains concluded, 
 political candidates proposed and rejected; here strangers 
 made themselves known to the inhabitants, here young men 
 were counselled and encouraged by their seniors and valuable 
 friendships formed. Here Erastus Clark in the full courage of 
 his convictions uttered the bold prophecy, that at some future 
 day, whose date was not fixed, Utica would possess five thou- 
 sand inhabitants. This came to pass in 1825, when the cen- 
 sus gave the population at five thousand and forty souls. In 
 181 3 it was but seventeen hundred. 
 
 Dr. Elizur Mosely came to Whitesboro in 1790, and was the 
 first physician, the first merchant and the first postmaster of 
 that village. When he resigned the office in 1825, and was suc- 
 ceeded by William G. Tracey, he was the oldest postmaster in 
 the United States, having served since 1795. 
 
 Among the most active and useful in building up the infant 
 Parish may be mentioned Morris S. Miller, a young lawyer, 
 who made the journey here from. Lowville with his wife and 
 six weeks old baby on horse back; the only possible way to 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. in 
 
 accomplish the journey at that time. He immediately identi- 
 fied himself with all the interests of the place, and became an 
 active member of Trinity Church. His name appears as Ves- 
 tryman in 1806, and in that capacity he served until his death 
 in 1824. A graduate of Union College, and its second vale- 
 dictorian, he most fully appreciated the value of education, of 
 both the mind and the spirit, and gave liberally of his time 
 and talents to build up the Parish Church, often serving as lay 
 reader in the absence of a clergyman.! By his friendly cordial 
 manner towards the new comers he induced many to join him 
 in church work. It was mainly through his efforts and let- 
 ters that Dr. Anthon was persuaded to come to Utica, where 
 he left an honored name and memory. In 1808, Mr. Miller 
 was president of the village; in 1810 he was made first Judge 
 of Oneida County, and was reappointed three successive terms 
 until his death, filling the office with credit and public ap- 
 proval. In 1813 and 1815 he represented the district in the 
 13th Congress. 
 
 As agent of his father-in-law, Rutger Bleecker of Albany, 
 one of the four proprietors of Cosby's Manor, Judge Miller 
 was actively engaged in laying out streets, building bridges, 
 planting trees, and doing a hundred different things to pro- 
 mote the growth of the village, and to make it attractive to the 
 emigrants from New England who were coming over to this 
 Western wilderness in large numbers, attracted by the rich 
 soil of our valleys as compared with the rocky, stony fields 
 of Connecticut and Massachusetts. He is described as having 
 many gifts of appearance and manner; a slight but compact 
 figure, a large beaming blue eye, a merry laugh, a warm heart 
 which atoned for his quick temper, not always controlled, and 
 which frequently brought him into temporary difficulties. To 
 his credit be it said he was always the first to confess the fault 
 which injured him more than his fellow-man. He died in 
 1824, leaving an honored name in the village and County, and 
 
1 1 2 One Hundred Years of 
 
 although only forty-four years of age, he left the impress of 
 his taste and ability on our city. The beautiful wide avenues 
 of Broad Street and Park Avenue were laid out by him.; while 
 the last work of his life was the planning and arranging of 
 Rutger Place, with its broad paths, extensive lawns, and grace- 
 ful shrubberies, with a massive stone house in the center, 
 which his mortal eyes were not destined to see completed. 
 His life was spent in the old Kip house on Main Street, where 
 the Bishops and Clergy were always most welcome guests 
 during their visits to* Utica and on their journey ings through 
 the State. His remains now rest in Forest Hill, but were taken 
 to Albany at his death. As a token of respect, a mournful 
 company of the vestry and pall bearers walked with the funeral 
 procession as far as the city line. 
 
 In 1819, Henry Seymour, recently appointed Commissioner 
 for building the Erie Canal, moved his family in covered 
 wagons and vans from Pompey Hill in Onondaga County to 
 Utica, and from thenceforth thoroughly identified himself with 
 the place. His life tells the story of what active young men 
 at that time accomplished in this Western world. His father, 
 Major Moses Seymour of Connecticut came out of the Revolu- 
 tionary War a poor man, and his five sons entered vigorously 
 into the battle of life. Henry Seymour decided to come up 
 into New York State, and opened a country store on Pompey 
 Hill, where he displayed very marked energy and ability. 
 From 1816 to 1819 he represented the Western District in the 
 State Senate. He served as Canal Commissioner from 18 19 
 until 183 1, when he resigned to become President of the Far- 
 mer's Loan and Trust Company in New York City. After 
 coming to Utica he was elected to the Assembly in 18 19. In 
 1822 he went for the second time to the Senate. In 1833 he 
 was appointed Mayor of Utica. He served as Vestryman in 
 Trinity Church from 1829 to 1836. His son, Horatio Sey- 
 mour, followed his footsteps in his loyalty to the Church, as 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 113 
 
 well as in filling offices of trust; confirmed by Bishop Onder- 
 donk in 1831, be was continuously a Vestryman and Warden 
 over fifty years, until 1882, when he resigned on account of ill 
 health. He was for many years a delegate to the Diocesan 
 Conventions of both Western and Central New York, and 
 deputy to the General Convention, where his wise counsels 
 and effective speeches made him a conspicuous member. By 
 no one has his character been more perfectly epitomized than 
 by Judge Calvin in his address before the Alumni of Hobart 
 College. "Horatio Seymour was more than an eminent states- 
 man, an accomplished and faithful public officer, a famous 
 and effective orator, a trusted leader, an earnest and incorrupt- 
 ible patriot; he was the highest type of man, a sincere intel- 
 ligent devoted Christian gentleman. He cherished and re- 
 vered the Stars and Stripes, and all the majestic facts and 
 grand possibilities which they typified, but his supreme affec- 
 tion and devout adoration were reserved for and bestowed 
 upon the banner of the Cross and the sublime facts it pro- 
 claimed, and the ineffable hopes it signified and announced. 
 As deputy to the General Convention in 1862, during the Civil 
 War, and in 1865 (the first one held after the war), he was 
 foremost in counsel and advocacy of such measures of con- 
 ciliation and Christian charity as closed no doors and imposed 
 no obstacles to the return of those Bishops and Deputies then 
 absent by force, or seeking their accustomed place in the coun- 
 cils of the Church. It would be difficult to estimate the value 
 and influence of such an example in the effort to restore har- 
 mony between the sections, an example so appreciated by his 
 warm friend, Bishop DeLancey, that after expressing his ad- 
 miration for his whole course he said: "In the grand defence 
 he made of the principles and doctrines of the Church, layman 
 as he is, he puts to blush the clergy by his manly way of hold- 
 ing forth the truth, rejoicing in it with deep reverence for the 
 holy faith, and in the beautiful spirit of charity which 
 
ii4 One Hundred Years of 
 
 vaunteth not itself, thinketh no evil, and hopeth all things. 
 We may justly lay to heart and value the counsels of such a 
 noble man." 
 
 The striking figure of Roscoe Conkling was a familiar one 
 in Trinity Church during the early years of his life, when as a 
 young lawyer in Utica he laid the foundation of his fame and 
 political prominence which was to' make his name known all 
 over the country. 
 
 Trinity Church is the oldest public building existing in Utica 
 to-day. As it stands under the noble over-shadowing elms, it 
 presents externally much the same appearance as in the days 
 of our forefathers. When additions were made at different 
 times, the front of the building, with the steeple, was carefully 
 removed, and as carefully replaced, thus leaving it practically 
 unchanged. Internally, many changes have been made. 
 There was at first no recess chancel; the end of the Church 
 was slightly curved to hold the communion table, and the two 
 storied pulpit stood outside, with a door at the rear opening 
 into the vestry room. Many of us can recollect the surprise 
 and mystery when a clergyman after disappearing through a 
 low door in the chancel wearing his white surplice, suddenly 
 reappeared at the back of the high pulpit in a black silk robe 
 and white muslin bands. To some of the children of that time 
 this occurrence was the event of the service always eagerly 
 watched for. The Church was furnished in white with green 
 cushions and brass nails; heavy green moreen curtains with 
 fringe to match hung down from the pulpit. The congrega- 
 tion came from far and near. Colonel and Mrs. Walker rolled 
 up in a stately coach from East Utica, Colonel Inman with 
 equal state from far out on the Whitesboro road. The Greens 
 came faithfully down from Oriskany, Miss Mary Green played 
 the organ year after year, often coming on horse back when 
 the roads were impassable, and staying through the afternoon 
 service. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 115 
 
 In looking over the long list of Wardens and Vestrymen, 
 it is pleasant to note how many of them were willing to serve 
 for long periods, and how often the office descended from fa- 
 ther to son. Nor does this list of officers at all comprise the 
 sum total of the faithful workers, so many of whom have gone 
 long since to their reward, and who were too humbly unos- 
 tentatious to let their good works and deeds be known. But 
 the fruits of their labors we can all see and recognize. This 
 Church begun in a spirit so liberal, in proportion to the number 
 of its members, was destined to grow and prosper through all 
 the years of the century, and to be instrumental, directly and 
 indirectly in forming the strong Parishes of Grace, Calvary, 
 St. George, St. Luke and Holy Cross, with the active mis- 
 sions of St. Andrew and St. Paul's in Deerfield. 
 
 It is almost impossible to over-rate the power and influence 
 of such an attractive church building as Old Trinity; stand- 
 ing practically unchanged at the end of the century amid the 
 general change, it forms a connecting link with the past; a 
 past eloquent with the hopes and fears, the trials and successes 
 of a by-gone generation. As the descendants of the first mem- 
 bers of this Parish kneel here at the altar they are surrounded 
 with memories of those long gone before. They realize that 
 this was the Church of their fathers, and that the paths they 
 are treading, their fathers have trod; they utter the same peti- 
 tions from her Litanies, they breathe the same fervent prayers 
 for strength, comfort and guidance as in days of yore, and on 
 such a marked day of remembrance as this in the annuls of Old 
 Trinity we may well believe the spirits of those gone before 
 us into life everlasting are joining with ours in the full com- 
 munion of saints. 
 
n6 One Hundred Years of 
 
 "THE WORK AND CHARACTERISTICS OF TRIN- 
 ITY'S RECTORS." 
 
 BY REV. JOHN RAVENSCROFT HARDING. 
 
 In addition to what has been said yesterday and to-day, the 
 history of Trinity Parish as a corporation has been told on 
 several previous occasions. In 1871 the Rev. Samuel Hanson 
 Coxe, S. T. D., then rector of the parish, delivered in this 
 church an historical address, covering the prominent facts in 
 our earliest history. 
 
 On September 5, 1881, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the 
 church's consecration was celebrated here. There was a ser- 
 mon then, partly historical, by the Bishop of the Diocese, 
 Right Rev. F. D. Huntington, LL.D., and an historical paper 
 by the then Rector, Rev. Charles H. Gardner. There were 
 also congratulatory addresses of the same nature as those on 
 Wednesday evening last. Beside these I draw attention to 
 an article which appeared in the Utica Daily "Observer," 
 September 30th, 1887, containing a short sketch of the par- 
 ish's organization in 1798, the names of the original sub- 
 scribers, and a full list of Rectors, Wardens and Vestrymen 
 from the beginning to that time. 
 
 This valuable paper was carefully prepared by Mr. D. 
 Walter Perkins of this parish. Other letters of reminiscence 
 have appeared from time to time in the papers of this city, 
 from former parishioners or friends in the olden days. 
 
 This history is then an oft told tale, and one which will 
 not in the present paper need repetition. Surely in these 
 various addresses and letters I have mentioned, and in all 
 that has been said during this celebration, there would seem 
 but little left for me to say.; It appeared to our committee 
 that whatever may have been said in the past, perhaps not 
 
e Rev. Charles H. Gardner. 
 Rector from tSj8to iSSb. 
 
 fU r/ 
 
 The Rev. William D. Ifaxoo, D. D. 
 Hector from r&j to /fyj. 
 
 The Rev. John R. Harding. 
 Rector from 18Q4. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 117 
 
 quite enough had been told of those godly men, pastors and 
 laymen upon whom during the century had fallen the spiritual 
 and material welfare of the parish. The mere facts in our 
 history have been told and retold, but we thought hardly 
 enough about the characters, the strong manly lives, the 
 saintly souls, whose labors and prayers have made Trinity 
 parish all that it has been these hundred years, and whose 
 good deeds, let it be hoped, were the fruitage of what the 
 church had to give them in return. The story of the laity to 
 which you have just listened, written by a former member 
 and friend of this parish, has proved no less interesting than 
 all else which comes from her facile pen. We close this cele- 
 bration with a similar tale of those faithful clergymen who 
 through all the years have served at this altar, and given 
 themselves faithfully here to the glory of God. 
 
 It is well known that the original founder of the parish in 
 the winter of 1798 was the Rev. Philander Chase, a deacon 
 and missionary, who on his journey from Albany to the 
 western part of the State, held the first services of our church 
 here, gathered together the few communicants, and organ- 
 ized a parish named, "The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen 
 of Trinity Church, Utica." 
 
 His venerable and honored son, the Rev. Dudley Chase, 
 now a retired army chaplain living in Philadelphia, is under 
 God's blessing able to be with us here to-day, and has already 
 given us some reminiscences of his father, the first Bishop of 
 Ohio and Illinois. On his return eastward Mr. Chase stopped 
 again at Utica to encourage the few gathered together on his 
 first visit. I can find no record of any ministrations here 
 from that winter until 1803. It is probable, as suggested by 
 Dr. Bagg, in his "Memorial History of Utica," that although 
 regular services were discontinued after the departure of Mr. 
 
n8 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Chase, that during the five intervening years to 1803, "Ser- 
 vices were imperfectly maintained by lay reading." 
 
 Ont the 24th of May, 1803, a meeting of laymen was called 
 to erect and establish an Episcopal Church. On the 1st 
 June, 1803, the subscribers decided to build. In the conven- 
 tion journal of the Diocese of New York, 1804, it is stated 
 that the "Rev. Gamaliel Thatcher organized a church at Utica, 
 August 14, same year, by the name of Trinity Church." 
 The Rev. Mr. Thatcher was a missionary ministering to 
 the small congregations scattered through the State from 
 Schenectady westward, including Utica in his field. The first 
 clergyman regularly in charge of the parish was the Rev. 
 Jonathan Judd, who officiated alternately here and at Paris 
 Hill from the fall of 1804 to the fall of 1806. Mr. Judd prob- 
 ably lived in Utica, but left no record of his work in the par- 
 ish register. He was a native of Connecticut, and reared in 
 the Church. On February 8th, 1804, he was ordained deacon 
 in New York by Bishop Benjamin Moore, and was sent out 
 in this part of the State as a general missionary, having min- 
 istered here occasionally before he was called to the parish. 
 In his first report to the convention! he states that "at Utica 
 they are building a church." He went from here on Novem- 
 ber 3rd, 1806, to St. John's Church, Johnstown, and St. 
 Ann's, Fort Hunter. There is no record of his ordination to 
 the priesthood. He remained at Johnstown until 1812. In 
 181 3 he was rector of St. John's Church, Stamford, Connec- 
 ticut, and in charge of the churches at New Canaan and 
 Greenwich. In 1822 he went to Maryland, and from 1823 
 until his death in 1838 was rector of Great Choptank parish. 
 Dorchester County, Maryland. On his tomb in the old 
 cemetery of that parish is the following inscription: 
 
 "Faith, Hope and Charity, 
 
 But the greatest of these is Charity." 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 119 
 
 "In these words and in this spirit preached and lived the Rev. 
 Jonathan Judd, whose remains are buried here. For many 
 years he was rector of Great Choptank parish. Mr. Judd was 
 born in Watertown, Conn., 1782, and died on the 5th day of 
 April, 1838." 
 
 He is described as a high-toned, conscientious and earnest 
 worker, in appearance a very handsome man, about five feet 
 ten inches in height, of light complexion, with remarkably 
 fine prominent features, but rather delicate in figure. He 
 served on the standing committee of Maryland for many 
 years. 
 
 The Rev. Amos Glover Baldwin came to the parish imme- 
 diately after Mr. Judd's departure. His acceptance of the 
 rectorship began with September 22, 1807, and he served un- 
 til May 12, 1818. This period of 11 years lifted us from the 
 condition of a weak, struggling body, to one of the strong 
 and important parishes of this part of the diocese. There 
 were 201 baptisms, and at his resignation about 100 com- 
 municants. Though the journey in those days to New York 
 City was long and expensive, Mr. Baldwin represented us 
 nearly every year at the annual convention. 
 
 Through funds obtained largely in New York, he estab- 
 lished in 1810 the Trinity Church Theological Library for 
 students of divinity in the western part of the Diocese of New 
 York. It has been stated, though our records show no proof, 
 that he constructed with his own hands the first organ used 
 in this church in 181 1. The records do state that an organ 
 was built at that time by William Whately & Co. 
 
 A minute of the vestry at his resignation testifies to his 
 "zeal and fidelity" in the performance of his duties. After 
 leaving here Mr. Baldwin continued his labors as follows: 
 Most of the time as a missionary; St. Lawrence County, N. 
 Y., 1819; in the Western States under the Board of Missions, 
 1823; Rector of St. Paul and St. Mary, Charlton, N. Y., 1824; 
 
120 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Zanesville and Newark, Ohio, 1826; Ovid and Watkins, N. 
 Y., 1829; Constableville, N. Y., 1831; Aurora, N. Y., 1835; 
 Mayville and Jamestown, N. Y., 1837; Montezuma and 
 Cayuga, 1839. From 1840 until his death on Christmas Day, 
 1844, he lived in Auburn, New York. He was buried in St. 
 Peter's churchyard of that city. The Rev. Samuel Hanson 
 Coxe, rector of St. Peter's at that time, visited Mr. Baldwin 
 in his last sickness, officiated at his funeral, and preached a 
 memorial sermon. In his convention address of 1845 Bishop 
 DeLancey said of Mr. Baldwin: "He was contemporary with 
 the early efforts to establish and extend the church in West- 
 ern New York, and long labored in this diocese and else- 
 where with a heart and mind devoted to her interests." 
 
 The parish was without a rector for more than a year until 
 August 23, 1819, when the Rev. Henry M. Shaw accepted 
 the invitation of the vestry. He served until May 22, 1821. 
 His only report to the convention while here, that of 1820, 
 gives baptisms 42, and communicants 65. 
 
 In the paper of Mrs. Elizabeth Brown of Denver, read to- 
 day, occurs the only recollection of Mr. Shaw by any mem- 
 ber of this parish. She says that he was a young man of more 
 than ordinary ability, distinguished for kindness of heart, and 
 particularly acceptable to the younger members of the con- 
 gregation. He was a native of Ireland. While a teacher in 
 the academy at Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 18 19, he was 
 ordered deacon on April 19 of that year, by Right Rev. Rich- 
 ard Channing Moore of Virginia. 
 
 He came to Utica from North Carolina, and was ordained 
 a priest by Bishop Hobart in Trinity Church September 3rd, 
 1820. From here he went to Sacketts Harbor, then to Queen 
 Anne Parish, Prince George's County, Maryland, in 1822. In 
 1823 he went to Vincennes, Indiana, then to Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky, and back to Vincennes, where it seems that he died 
 about 1839. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 12 j 
 
 Among those to whom a call to the parish was unsuccess- 
 fully given between Mr. Baldwin's and Mr. Shaw's rector- 
 ships, was the Rev. Henry Anthon. The call was renewed 
 after Mr. Shaw's resignation, and this time accepted, taking 
 effect May 29, 182 1. He labored here until January 19, 1829, 
 when he became rector of St. Stephens Church, New York. 
 He had a year before declined a call to St. Thomas Church, 
 New York. In 183 1 he was appointed an assistant minister 
 of Trinity Church, New York, and was elected to the rector- 
 ship of St. Mark's in the Bowery in 1836. He served there 
 nearly 24 years, until shortly before his death on January 5, 
 1861. 
 
 During his charge of this parish, there were 203 baptisms, 
 and at his departure about 100 communicants. The church 
 was repainted and repaired in 1822. The Trinity Church 
 Theological Library, established by the Rev. Mr. Baldwin, 
 was transferred to Hobart College, Geneva, in 1822; the 
 church steeple was repaired in 1823; the first memorial tablet 
 was placed in the church by Mr. Hunt; the old side pews were 
 built, and alterations made in the pulpit and chancel, and the 
 present communion service was purchased in 1824. The 
 trees around the church were set out, and the first rectory 
 was built in 1825; the present offertory plates were bought 
 in 1826. All this shows what was the activity of Dr. Anthon's 
 ministry here. 
 
 He belonged to a distinguished family of six sons, his fa- 
 ther being a surgeon general in the British army, and his 
 mother the daughter of a French officer. Among his brothers 
 were the eminent Greek Professor of Columbia College, 
 Charles Anthon, LL.D., and John Anthon, a prominent 
 lawyer of New York. Dr. Anthon was born in New York, 
 March nth, 1795, he was graduated from Columbia College 
 in 1813, and ordained priest in September, 1819. 
 
 8 
 
/ 
 
 122 One Hundred Years of 
 
 He served the parishes at Red Hook, Ulster County, N. 
 Y., for 3 years, and had worked in South Carolina 2 years be- 
 fore coming here. 
 
 Dr. Bagg in his "Pioneers of Utica" describes Dr. Anthon 
 and his character as a man and clergyman as follows : "Slight 
 ipf figure and youthful of aspect, there was in his manner an 
 open frankness, and in his countenance a grave, thoughtful 
 and determined air which impressed and won the beholder. 
 His sermons were marked by purity, beauty and finish of 
 style, and in both them and his conversation there was a racy 
 flavor of strength that betokened ability of high order. * * * 
 
 * * * He was also inflexible in purpose and fearless in 
 duty. ****** jj e was an attentive and indefatig- 
 able pastor, and a genial and faithful friend." 
 
 In a sermon delivered at the Centennial of St. Mark's 
 Church, New York, by the present rector, occurs the follow- 
 ing significant words : "There came a saintly soul in that year 
 1836, a type of the Christian pastor, rapidly becoming extinct 
 I suspect, the Rev. Henry Anthon." 
 
 In 1843 ne drew to himself the attention of the whole 
 church in his successful protest against the ordination of a 
 Mr. Arthur Carey to the ministry. Mr. Carey had espoused 
 the views of the Oxford Movement, which at that time was so 
 obnoxious to the strong protestant sentiment in the church. 
 
 Succeeding Dr. Anthon, the Rev. Benjamin Dorr came to 
 Trinity May 15, 1829, and remained here until October 6, 
 1835. During this time there was 208 baptisms, the com- 
 municants numbering about 150. The unusual number of 80 
 baptisms in the year 183 1 attest the earnestness of his labors 
 here. There were the following changes in the church struc- 
 ture: The galleries were built in 1830, the second organ was 
 purchased in 1832, and the church was lengthened in 1833. 
 
 Dr. Dorr was born March 22, 179*5, at Salisbury, Massa- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 123 
 
 chusetts, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1817. 
 He at first studied law, but soon abandoned that for the min- 
 istry, and graduated in the first class sent out from the Gen- 
 eral Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon by 
 Bishop Hobart, June 25, 1820, in Grace Church, Jamaica, N. 
 Y., and priest by the same Bishop, January 15, 182 1, in St. 
 John's Chapel, New York. From 1820 until his call to this 
 church he was in charge of the combined parishes of Trinity, 
 Lansingburgh, and Grace, Waterford, N. Y. 
 
 After leaving here in 1835, he was General Secretary of 
 the Board of Missions, until his call to Christ Church, Phila- 
 delphia, where he was instituted as rector, Ascension Day, 
 May 4th, 1837. He remained there until his death in 1869. 
 In 1839 he was elected Bishop of Maryland, but declined the 
 office. Both as pastor and preacher, he won the admiration 
 and respect of his Philadelphia flock. The following words 
 written me by a near relative of his now living in Philadelphia, 
 bear witness to the beauty of his character. He says: "I have 
 never known a man who was so universally loved by all, rich 
 and poor; young and old, learned and unlearned. There are 
 old people in this city to-day, who come out to see my little 
 family that they may tell them stories of their dear pastor, 
 'good old Dr. Dorr.' " Among the productions of his active 
 pen are the following books: "Recognition of Friends in An- 
 other World/' "History of a Pocket Prayer Book," and "His- 
 tory of Christ Church, Philadelphia." Some of these passed 
 through nine editions. A clergyman of Pennsylvania wrote 
 of him: "Dr. Dorr was sympathetic. I well remember the 
 encouraging words he uttered to me in Christ Church, com- 
 ing gracefully from an aged clergyman closing his work, to a 
 younger brother with less experience." He was laid to rest 
 at Salisbury, Massachusetts, his birthplace, to which he was 
 always fondly attached. A bas-relief of him adorns the vestry 
 
124 One Hundred Years of 
 
 room of Christ Church, and a marble monument in the 
 church commemorates his good deeds as shepherd of the 
 flock. 
 
 On January 25, 1836, the Rev. Pierre Alexis Proal accepted 
 the charge of the parish, and served until May 5, 1857, when 
 he resigned on account of feeble health. His was the longest 
 rectorship, 21 years and 3 months. The parish register shows 
 during that time 559 baptisms, and 298 confirmations, the 
 largest number of communicants being 158. The old chapel, 
 which formerly stood on the east side of the church, facing 
 Broad Street, was built in 1836; in 185 1 the entire building 
 being then in a somewhat dilapidated condition was thorough- 
 ly repaired and repainted, and the present windows put in. 
 At that time also the entire seating arrangement of the church 
 was changed, the old pews in the centre and on the sides giv- 
 ing place to the present plan. 
 
 This did away with the private ownership of the pews, 
 which had continued from the building of the church, and 
 which at last crippled very materially the parish finances. Dr. 
 Proal and the vestry of those days deserve the gratitude of 
 the parish for removing such an incubus. 
 
 Dr. Proal was born in 1796 at Newark, N. J., of French 
 descent. He studied for the ministry under Bishop Hobart, 
 and was ordained deacon by him in the French Church, Du 
 St. Esprit, New York, September 18, 1818, and priest in 
 Trinity Church, Lansingburgh, July 13, 1820. He was in 
 charge of St. John's Church, Johnstown, from 18 19 to 1821, 
 when he was called to St. George's Church, Schenectady. 
 Here he remained 15 years, until he came to this parish in 
 1836. While in Schenectady he also held for a time the chair 
 of French language in Union College that city. Bishop 
 Onderdonk in his convention address of 1836, speaks in the 
 highest terms of his ministry in St. George's parish. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 125 
 
 While rector of Trinity Church he was Secretary of the 
 Diocese of Western New York, a delegate to the general 
 convention, and prominent in the general institutions of the 
 church. He was also a trustee of Hamilton College. Dr. 
 Proal was scholarly, eloquent as a preacher, and well known 
 for his intelligent and beautiful rendering of the church serv- 
 ices. He was very strong in his convictions, and determined 
 in enforcing them, but withal, a man who left a deep impress 
 upon his congregation and diocese. 
 
 Following Dr. Proal, and next to his, the longest rector- 
 ship in our parish history comes the name of the Rev. Samuel 
 Hanson Coxe, S. T. D. He was born at Mendham, New Jer- 
 sey, on November 13, 1819, being the second son of the Rev. 
 S. H. Coxe, D. D., a prominent Presbyterian clergyman of 
 New York City. He was graduated in 1839 at the University 
 of the City of New York, and in 1843 at the General Theo- 
 logical Seminary. He was ordained deacon that same year in 
 St. Stephen's Church, New York, and soon after was placed 
 m charge of Bethesda Church, Saratoga Springs. Here in 
 1844 he was ordained to the priesthood, and went soon after 
 to St. Peter's Church, Auburn. He next served the parishes 
 in Cazenovia and Oxford, N. Y., in both of which, churches 
 were built during his rectorship. He was also in Connecticut 
 a short while. He began his ministry in Trinity Church, Au- 
 gust 1, 1857, and continued here over 20 years until Novem- 
 ber 1, 1877. There were 365 baptisms and 250 confirmations 
 in those years, and about 225 communicants at his departure. 
 
 The present rectory was built in i860, and the present or- 
 gan in i8di. The older portion of the parish house situated 
 on First Street, and long known as the chapel, was built and 
 dedicated in 1876. The debt of the parish was also materially 
 reduced during his rectorship. Dr. Coxe's last regular minis- 
 trations were at St. Paul's parish, Kinderhook, N. Y. After 
 
126 One Hundred Years of 
 
 10 years of duty there he retired from active work, and re- 
 turned to this city, where he spent the remaining six years of 
 his life, preaching at intervals, and assisting occasionally in 
 the services of this church, which he never ceased to love. 
 He died on Wednesday, January 16, 1895, at his residence in 
 this city, and was buried from this church on the following 
 Friday, the very large congregation present testifying their 
 love for his memory. While he was rector here the number 
 of parishes in this city increased from three to five, and many 
 of the older church people here now in this and our several 
 sister churches, received their early instruction from him in 
 Old Trinity. They have recently memorialized their affection 
 for him and Mrs. Coxe in the bronze tablet on the wall at the 
 west of the chancel. 
 
 In 1866 he received the degree of S. T. D. from Columbia 
 College, New York. In 1868 at the primary convention of 
 this diocese held in this church, he was prominent in arrang- 
 ing for the division, and was chairman of the committee to se- 
 lect the name of the new diocese, Central New York. He 
 was also an active member and secretary of the standing com- 
 mittee until his removal to Kinderhook. Dr. Coxe's life as a 
 pastor and preacher was one of marked sincerity and purity. 
 It was truly said at his death by one who had known him 
 many years, "I have never known a more blameless life." 
 He was essentially simple and unambitious, and cared very 
 little for posthumous fame. 
 
 In the "common task" of parish duties he was not only 
 faithful but joyful. He had a strong sense of humor, his 
 habit of punning, giving him and his friends many a hearty 
 laugh. He was devoted to books and nature, and always 
 greatly enjoyed his annual outing among the trout streams of 
 the Adirondacks. One who was an examining chaplain with 
 him in this diocese has said of him, that he was often struck 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 127 
 
 with his knowledge of the deep things of his profession, and 
 his exceptionally fine memory of classical and historical 
 quotations. His knowledge and love of English poetry was 
 unusual, and he could quote freely from Milton, Scott, Byron, 
 and the English classics generally, while Shakespeare was 
 constantly in his thoughts. Like his eminent brother, Right 
 Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe, he has left behind a number of 
 poems, both sacred and patriotic, some of which are pre- 
 served in the pages of our recent parish paper. Among his 
 literary works were three lectures delivered in Utica some 
 years ago, on "Talleyrand," "York and Lancaster," and 
 "English Poetry," also a series of five lectures on the history 
 of Trinity Parish. 
 
 The more modern life of the parish began with the Rev. 
 Charles H. Gardner, who following the Rev. Dr. Coxe on 
 January II, 1878, held the rectorship until November 1, 1886. 
 By this time the neighborhood of Old Trinity had changed 
 very much in character from the palmy days of Dr. Proal and 
 Dr. Coxe, in fact we had then became "a downtown" parish, 
 land had not only lost many of the old families, but were too 
 far away to receive any marked impetus from the uptown 
 growth. 
 
 It was well that the Rev. Mr. Gardner was young and 
 vigorous, and apparently capable of unlimited exertion. One 
 of the first acts of his ministry was to change the seats from 
 rented pews to the free church system, which plan has been 
 retained ever since. 
 
 The vigor of his rectorship is shown in the unusual number 
 of baptisms and confirmations, much larger than at any other 
 equal time in our history. Of the former there were 453, and 
 of the latter 255, the last report showing 340 communicants. 
 
 On September 7, 1881, occurred the seventy-fifth anniver- 
 sary of the consecration of this church, which was fittingly 
 
128 One Hundred Years of 
 
 celebrated under Mr. Gardner's direction. He was noted as 
 an organizer, and endeavored to enlist the interest of every 
 individual in some parish agency. 
 
 The young men's society of that day was a strong force 
 here, as was also his parish paper, "The Earnest Workers." 
 The industrial school and the kindergarten did excellent 
 work. 
 
 He fostered also St. Paul's Mission in Deerfield, which still 
 remains under the pastoral care of this parish. Mr. Gardner's 
 activities were not confined to> Trinity Church, but made 
 themselves felt in the convocation, and in the diocese at large. 
 The parish of the Holy Cross in this city owes much of its 
 early progress to his faithful work there. 
 
 His fine physical manhood, his ever cordial and genial 
 manners, his open hearted sympathies for all sorts and con- 
 ditions of men, attracted to him many friends in this com- 
 munity, both inside and outside the parish. He was chaplain 
 of the Utica Citizen's Corps, and loved to have them here in 
 a body at this church. It has been said of him that "His 
 service was not the less effective among men, or less ac- 
 cordant with the purposes of God because it was active rather 
 than studious, lying on the lines of practical usefulness, rather 
 than of speculative research." From all I have heard of him 
 through friends and parishioners, no other words could ex- 
 press more exactly the position which he held among the 
 rectors of this parish. 
 
 From my own vantage ground I feel that we owe very 
 much to just that vigorous, sympathetic earnestness which 
 at that time the parish most needed. Many changes have 
 taken place since his resignation in 1886, and we are much 
 more of a "down-town" church to-day than then, but surely 
 we of to-day should bless God that he sent to Trinity just 
 when he did, such a man as Charles H. Gardner. Mr. Gard- 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 129 
 
 ner was born at Long Hill, Connecticut, January 23, 1850, 
 the second son of the Rev. Henry V. Gardner. He left Trin- 
 ity College, Connecticut, in his senior year, and entered 
 Nashotah Seminary, where his theologial education was com- 
 pleted. 
 
 He was ordained deacon in St. James Church, Syracuse, 
 June 8, 1873, and priest in Calvary Church, Utica, June 18, 
 1874. His first work was the charge of St. John's Church, 
 Clayville, and Christ Church, Bridgewater. On November 1, 
 1874, he accepted the rectorship of Trinity Church, Fayette- 
 ville, this diocese, where he remained until called here in 1878. 
 
 He went from here in 1886 to Omaha, Nebraska, as Dean 
 of Trinity Cathedral, which important work he served until 
 his sudden and untimely decease on August 8, 1896. In 
 Omaha and Nebraska he was loved and honored. Besides 
 being Dean of the Cathedral, he was President of the Stand- 
 ing Committee, Examining Chaplain, and Deputy to the 
 General Convention. 
 
 The same qualifications he exhibited while rector here 
 developed in that larger field to their greatest extent, and the 
 parish, the press, and the people of Omaha all united in bear- 
 ing testimony to his remarkable usefulness as a clergyman 
 and as a citizen. 
 
 On April 24, 1887, the Rev. William D. Maxon, D. D., 
 began his ministry here as the successor to the Rev. Mr. 
 Gardner. After a rectorship of seven years, he resigned on 
 April 8, 1894, to accept the strong parish of Calvary Church, 
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. There were 124 baptisms and 118 
 confirmations while he was here. 
 
 The present commodious and very useful Parish House 
 was built in 1893, affording room for all parish activities. As 
 we have the pleasure of Dr. Maxon's presence with us to- 
 day, and of hearing from him, it would not perhaps be in 
 keeping for me to write of him as of those who can no longer 
 
130 One Hundred Years of 
 
 speak for themselves. He is honored and loved in Trinity 
 Church and in Utica, and his presence in this church never 
 fails to bring out a large and interested congregation. His 
 scholarship, his marked ability as a writer and preacher, and 
 his powers as an organizer have in his present large and im- 
 portant work every opportunity of further development. We 
 welcome him here to-day, and wish for him in his present 
 and future work continued blessings. 
 
 Dr. Maxon was born in Schenectady, N. Y., and was 
 graduated from Union College of that city in 1878, from 
 which, in 1884, he received the degree of M. A., and in 1894 
 that of D. D. His theological studies were pursued at the 
 General Theological Seminary, and at Berkeley Divinity 
 School, Middletown, Connecticut, from the latter of which 
 he graduated in 1881. He was ordered Deacon on June 25, 
 1881, and Priest May 21, 1882, in St. George's Church, 
 Schenectady, by Right Rev. William Croswell Doane of Al- 
 bany. He was missionary at Fonda, New York, from June 
 to September, 1881 ; was rector's assistant in St. George's, 
 Schenectady, from. November, 1881, to April, 1882; was act- 
 ing professor of Logic and Rhetoric in Union College from 
 September, 1882, to January, 1883; he became rector of Grace 
 Church, Waterford, New York, May, 1883, and was there 
 until his call to this parish. He has published the following 
 books in pamphlet forms. In 1892, 'The Passion Play at 
 Oberammergau;" in 1895, "Confirmation, Some Plain Ques- 
 tions and Answers;" also "Messages of Christmas, Good 
 Friday and Easter;" in 1896, "Calvary Church Papers;" and 
 in 1898, "Beyond the Grave." 
 
 Thus ends, my friends, the long story of one hundred years 
 down to the present rectorship, which began August 19, 
 1894. This can be more fittingly told at the next centennial. 
 May the good deeds to which we have listened to-day, be an 
 inspiration to us in our generation to "go and do likewise." 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 131 
 
 THE CHOIRS OF "OLD TRINITY." 
 
 BY JOHN BURT, JR., NEW YORK CITY, A FORMER ORGANIST 
 OF TRINITY CHURCH, AND BY THE REV. J. R. HARDING. 
 
 My first acquaintance with Trinity Church was during the 
 rectorate of the Rev. Dr. Proal, and this acquaintance contin- 
 ued through the periods of service of the Rev. Dr. Coxe and 
 the Rev. Mr. Gardner. It was after the alterations had been 
 made in the interior of the church in the early fifties, when the 
 more modern style of pews replaced the old fashioned wood- 
 en boxes so to speak, that the services at this church became 
 distinguished at home and abroad for the high excellence of 
 its famous choir, which came into existence during the incum- 
 bency of Dr. Joseph Sieboth as organist. Dr. Sieboth was a 
 born musician, and as an organist had no superior in the Uni- 
 ted States. It detracts nothing from the merit and worth 
 justly accorded to that distinguished pulpit orator, the Rev. 
 Dr. Coxe, to say that much of the popularity of Trinity 
 Church, Utica, during that period of her history was due to 
 the services of this eminent organist and musician, and the al- 
 most incomparable choir which he had trained, and as com- 
 pletely controlled as ever musicians or singers were under the 
 baton of their leader. The music of the church was the very 
 red letter of its service, and he or she who did not enter the 
 church full fifteen minutes before the commencement of the 
 service had no chance for a seat on the main floor of the 
 sanctuary, and was frequently obliged to remain a standing 
 listener to the delightful music of this famous choir, and the 
 preaching of this eloquent rector from the rear aisles in the 
 gallery, even if he were fortunate enough to get even so 
 desirable a place. There are hundreds if not thousands, now 
 living in Utica who often journeyed to old Trinity on Sunday 
 evenings in years gone by to hear Dr. Sieboth "play the or- 
 
*3 2 One Hundred Years of 
 
 gan," and Miss Kate Lloyd, Miss Fannie Green, Mrs. Spruce, 
 Mrs. Shapiey, Williamson Spruce, Dr. C. B. Foster and Ed- 
 ward Kunkely "do the singing." Those surely were not the 
 days of "congregational singing," and there was but one voice 
 below stairs that ever presumed to take any part in the mu- 
 sical service, and the dear old saint, whom many will recall 
 by this slight reference, while really meaning no harm, cer- 
 tainly did no good, and as he has long since been gathered 
 to his fathers, we will pass the incident by. How shall we 
 speak of the solos, duets, trios, anl quartettes rendered by 
 these delightful singers? They were simply grand, to use a 
 comprehensive and well understood term, and I am inclined 
 to think that it may be possible that even more went away at 
 the close of the service charmed by what they had heard from 
 the north rather than from the south end of the church. I do 
 not think many members of the present Choir of the church 
 know of the fame of these their predecessors, and it won't hurt 
 them> any to say so. 
 
 The fame of this choir spread not only throughout Central 
 New York, but was known and praised as far west as Buf- 
 falo, and as far east as New York. 
 
 Further mention on the same subject may find interest in 
 the following narration of events succeeding. With the sever- 
 ing of Dr. Sieboth's connection with the music at Trinity, 
 there was for a season a lack of interest in the matter of pro- 
 viding a choir of the high order of the one which left behind 
 it many delightful memories, and the liberal allowance for 
 providing a choir suitable to the services of the church was 
 very materially curtailed. Mr. W. H. Bull succeeded to the 
 organ stool, and with him was a choir drawn from the young 
 ladies of the church and Sunday School, quite a numerous 
 body, but lacking in the necessary parts sustained by male 
 voices. To enumerate all of the members who did their best 
 under the circumtances to give emphasis to the musical por- 
 
Trinity Church, Ulica, N. Y. 133 
 
 tion of the church is beyond my ability, but the names of 
 Misses Bush, Colling, Woodruff, Seward, Perkins, Dunn and 
 Hawthorne are well within my recollection, and against this ar- 
 ray of soprano and alto, some twenty in number, the sub* 
 scriber's effort at a bass part was almost if not entirely lost in 
 the volume of sweet sound produced by this very numerous 
 female choir. 
 
 But the church was ere long to have a change in choirs. 
 The necessity for it was apparent, and with the consent of the 
 Vestry a sum was raised among the members of the congrega- 
 tion, among them Ex-Governor Seymour, Selden Collins, 
 Miles C. Comstock, Joseph A. Shearman, Charles W. Hut- 
 chinson, John G. Marklove, Thomas W. Seward, A. L. Wood- 
 ruff, all now deceased, and several others equally interested in 
 restoring the music to its former excellent standing, to pro- 
 vide a soprano and contralto of merit. Miss Gertrude 
 Leach (now Mrs. Thomas F. Clarke), Miss Emily Paine, Wil- 
 liamson Spruce and George J. Buchanan for a number of years 
 formed a quartett choir which became well known in and 
 about Utica and Central New York, and most effectively ren- 
 dered the musical portion of the service. With this choir I 
 became associated as organist at the commencement of its 
 period of service, but not to remain for any great length of 
 time. I was succeeded by Mr. Geo. W. Rockwell, and he in 
 turn by his brother William, both well equipped for the posi- 
 tion. Miss Payne remained until her death, and Miss Mary 
 Willard succeeded her as contralto, and remained a member 
 for four or five years, to be followed by Miss Lillian Leach, 
 Miss Sophie Hedges (now Mrs. Dr. Haberer) became organist 
 after the retirement of Mr. William Rockwell, and filled the 
 position most acceptably for a number of years. This choir 
 served, with the changes mentioned, or a few of them, for a 
 period of about twelve years, Mr. Charles Spencer taking Mr. 
 Buchanan's place as basso, after a service by the former con- 
 
134 One Hundred Years of 
 
 tinned successively and successfully for nine years. Mr. Spen- 
 cer was the master spirit of this choir, and it goes without say- 
 ing that anything that he undertook in a musical way was a 
 sure success from the beginning, as was evidenced by his lead- 
 ership of the Utica Mendelsohn Club in its brightest and best 
 days. 
 
 I have not with me more recent data, but I well remember 
 that there were at times present in the choir singers deserving 
 of more than a passing notice, and among them I may mention 
 Mrs. Cleveland (a sister-in-law of the Ex-President, I believe), 
 Miss Kittie Foster, Miss Lottie McLane, Misses Maggie and 
 Annie German, Miss Phebe Lloyd and Miss Eaton, all of 
 whom were at one time or another connected with the church 
 choir, with the possible exception of Mrs. Cleveland, and 
 among the gentlemen who have assisted, notably are Mr. John 
 S. Hunt, who died in the early years of the War of the Rebel- 
 lion, Mr. Ferdinand H. Dunkinson for twenty-seven years the 
 great basso of Trinity Church New York City; Mr. Clinton 
 M. Ball, a very delightful tenor, afterwards of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church choir for a number of years; Mr. Frank M. 
 O'Neil, Mr. Geo. W. Shepard, well known to all lovers of good 
 music, and some others who are entitled to equal mention, but 
 whose names unfortunately have escaped me at this writing. 
 
 Other organists of the Church following Mrs. Haberer have 
 been Mr. George Owens, Mr. A. L. Barnes, Mr. De Henn- 
 berg, Mr. Perley Dunn Aldrich, Mr. George Beechwood, and 
 the present incumbent, Mr. H. G. Carpenter. Some of the 
 singers from time to time, under these several organists last 
 mentioned, have been Miss Ada Read, Miss Lillie Arthur, Mr. 
 J. H. Hodgkinson, Mr. Frank Nightingale, Mr. L. D. Tour- 
 tellot, Miss Dygert, Miss Norton, Mr. and Miss Cushing, Mr. 
 Thomas Colling, Miss H. Louise Dunn, now Mrs. Hugh 
 Crocker, Miss Kate Waters, now Mrs. W. S. Crocker, Miss 
 Harriett Brayton, Miss Son, Miss Lizzie Reichert, Mr. G. W. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y . 135 
 
 Payne, Mr. William L. Bowes, Mrs. Cole, Mr. William Gur- 
 ley, Mr. Malcolm Francis, Mr. C. S. Crandall, Mr. C. R. Miz- 
 ner, Miss Leona Robbins, Mrs. G. A. Rogers, Mr. A. J. Brom- 
 ley, Mr. Norman L. West, Mrs. Norman L. West, nee Miss 
 Rena Shirley; Mrs. Mary O'Connor, Mr. John A. Hughes, 
 Mr. John P. Williams, Mr. Fred. S. Black, Mr. Frank Willis, 
 Mr. M. C. Wright, Mr. Owen Pugh, Miss Grace Munson, 
 Miss Cloyes, Miss Katharine Smith, Mr. Harry E. Hyde, Mr. 
 Griffith Evans, Mr. Dana Benjamin, Mr. George Irle, Miss 
 Bertha Deane, Miss Grace Clarke, Miss Allie Clarke, Miss 
 Florence Hurley, Miss Elizabeth Brothers, Miss Lewis, Miss 
 Goodrich, Miss Jennie Owston, Miss Pritchard, Mr. Sidney 
 Matthews, Mr. W. E. Jones, Mr. Arthur Schrader, Mr. George 
 M. Weaver, Jr., Miss Sarah Gardner, Mr. George W. Miller, 
 Mr. John Walton, Mr. Charles Wenzel, Miss Mary E. McNeil, 
 Mr. H. Lee Austin, Miss Gertrude Sink, Miss Elizabeth 
 Ballou, Miss Maud Willis, Miss Jessie Sheets. 
 
 During the summer of 1896 the necessary changes were 
 made in the church for the introduction of a mixed vested 
 choir. The organ was brought down stairs from its old loca- 
 tion over the front door, and placed on the east side of the 
 chancel. The first service rendered by the new choir was on 
 the seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, September 27th, 1896. 
 The change proved an acceptable one from the beginning, and 
 under Mr. Carpenter's direction has already completed two 
 years of successful work. 
 
136 One Hundred Years of 
 
 THE ROLL OF RECTORS, WARDENS, AND VES- 
 TRYMEN FROM THE PERMANENT ORGANI- 
 ZATION OF THE PARISH IN 1804 DOWN 
 TO 1898. 
 
 COPIED AND COMPILED FROM THE RECORDS OF THE PAR- 
 ISH, BY MR. D. WALTER PERKINS, UTICA, N. Y., IN 1887, 
 AND COMPLETED TO 1898, BY THE REV. J. R. HARDING. 
 
 The following list gives order of succession of the Rectors, 
 Wardens and Vestrymen, from the date of the incorporation of 
 the church to the present time. 
 
 The Rectors of Trinity Church have been: 
 
 i, Rev. Jonathan Judd, from 1804, until latter part of 1806. 
 
 2, Rev. Amos G. Baldwin, from September 22, 1807, until 
 May 12, 1818. 
 
 3, Rev. Henry M. Shaw, from August 23, 1819, until May 
 22, 1821. 
 
 4, Rev. Henry Anthon, from May 29, 1821, until January 
 19, 1829. 
 
 5, Rev. Benjamin Dorr, from May 15, 1829, until October 
 
 6, 1835. 
 
 6, Rev. Pierre Alexis Proal, from January 25, 1836, until 
 May 5, 1857. 
 
 7, Rev. S. Hanson Coxe, from August 1, 1857, until No- 
 vember 1, 1877. 
 
 8, Rev. Charles H. Gardner, from January 11, 1878, until 
 November 1, 1886. 
 
 9, Rev. William D. Maxon, from April 24, 1887, until April 
 8, 1894. 
 
 10, Rev. John Ravenscroft Harding, from August 19, 1894. 
 The Church Wardens have been: 
 
 Abraham. M. Vv r alton, elected August 14, 1804. Served un- 
 til April 15, 1805; Nathan Williams, elected August 14, 1804, 
 served until April 7, 1806. The original two. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 137 
 
 Benjamin Walker, elected April 15, 1805. Served until 
 April 7, 1806. 
 
 Francis A. Bloodgood, elected April 7, 1806. Served until 
 April 3, 1809. 
 
 William Inman, elected April 7, 1806. Served until 
 March 30, 1807. 
 
 Nathan Williams, elected March 30, 1807. Served until 
 April 18, 1808. 
 
 Samuel Hooker, elected April 18, 1808. Served until April 
 3, 1809. 
 
 Nathan Williams, elected April 3, 1809. Served until April 
 18, 1831. 
 
 William Inman, elected April 3, 1809. Served until April 
 
 15, 1810. 
 
 Samuel Hooker, elected April 15, 1810. Served until April 
 3, i82(5. 
 
 James Cochran, elected April 3, 1826. Served until April 
 
 16, 1827. 
 
 Rudolph Snyder, elected April 16, 1827. Served until April 
 11, 1831. 
 
 Thomas H. Hubbard, elected April 11, 183 1. Served until 
 April 11, 1831. 
 
 Rudolph Snyder, elected May 2, 183 1. Served until April 
 
 3, 1833. 
 
 Nathan Williams, elected May 2, 183 1. Served until April 
 20, 1835. 
 
 Thomas H. Hubbard, elected April 8, 1833. Served until 
 April 20, 1835. 
 
 Elisha Wells, elected April 20, 1835. Served until April 1, 
 
 1839. 
 Chester Griswold, elected April 20, 1835. Served until April 
 
 4, 1836. 
 
 Thomas H. Hubbard, elected April 4, 1836. Served until 
 March 27, 1837. 
 
138 One Hundred Years of 
 
 John A. Russ, elected March 27, 1837. Served until April 
 1, 1839. 
 
 Alexander B. Johnson, elected April 1, 1839. Served until 
 April 13, 1846. 
 
 Timothy Pitkin, elected April 1, 1839. Served until April 
 
 20, 1840. 
 
 Horatio Seymour, elected April 20, 1840. Served until April 
 15, 1882. 
 
 John A. Russ, elected April 13, 1846. Served until April I, 
 1861. 
 
 Selden Collins, elected April 1, 1861. Died October 20, 1885. 
 
 Joseph A. Shearman, elected 1882. Died July 21, i886\ 
 
 Miles C. Comstoek, elected February 3, 1886. Died Feb- 
 ruary 22, 1894. 
 
 Charles W. Hutchinson, elected May 11, 1887. Served until 
 October 16, 1890. 
 
 William M. Storrs, elected October 29, 1890. 
 
 John B. Wild, elected March 26, 1894. Served until April 
 
 21, 1895. 
 
 George M. Weaver, elected April 21, 1895. 
 
 The Vestrymen have been: 
 
 William Inman, elected August 14, 1804, served until elect- 
 ed Warden, April 7, 1806; Charles Walton, elected August 14, 
 1804, served until March 30, 1807; John Smith, elected Au- 
 gust 14, 1804, served until April 15, 1805; Benjamin Walker, 
 elected August 14, 1804, served until elected Warden, April 
 15, 1805; Samuel Hooker, elected August 14, 1804, served un- 
 til elected Warden, April 18, 1808; Aylmer Johnson, elected 
 August 14, 1804, served until April 19, 1813; James Hopper, 
 elected August 14, 1804, served until March 30, 1807; Edward 
 Smith, elected August 14, 1804, served until April 15, 1805. 
 The original eight. 
 
 Francis A. Bloodgood, elected April 15, 1805. Served until 
 elected Warden, April 7, i8od. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 139 
 
 Bryan Johnson, elected April 15, 1805. Served until April 
 7, 1806. 
 
 John Bissell, elected April 15, 1805. Served until March 30, 
 1807. 
 
 Nathan Williams, elected April 7, 1806. Served until elect- 
 ed Warden, March 30, 1807. 
 
 Benjamin Walker, elected April 7, 1806. Served until 
 March 23, 1818. 
 
 Morris S. Miller, elected April 7, i8o<5. Served until March 
 30, 1807. 
 
 Bryan Johnson, elected March 30, 1807. Served until April 
 19, 1824. 
 
 Henry Kip, elected March 30, 1807. Served until April 18, 
 1808. 
 
 William Inman, elected March 30, 1807. Served until April 
 
 3, 1809. 
 
 Walter Morgan, elected March 30, 1807. Served until 
 April 18, 1808. 
 
 Alexander Johnson, elected March 30, 1807. Served until 
 April 18, 1808. 
 
 Nathan Williams, elected April 18, 1808. Served until 
 April 3, 1809. 
 
 John B. Mitchell, elected April 18, 1808. Served until April 
 2^, 1810. 
 
 Peter Bours, elected April 18, 1808. Served until April 11, 
 1814. 
 
 Morris S. Miller, elected April 18, 1808. Served until April 
 
 4, 1825. 
 
 Francis A. Bloodgood, elected April 3, 1809. Served until 
 April 15, 181 1. 
 
 Samuel Hooker, elected April 3, 1809. Elected Warden 
 April 15, 1810. 
 
 James Delvin, elected April 23, 1810. Served until April 
 7, 1817. 
 
140 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Aylmer Johnson, elected April 15, 181 1. Served until March 
 
 30, 1812. 
 
 Montgomery Hunt, elected April 15, 181 1. Served until 
 March 30, 1812. 
 
 Francis A. Bloodgood, elected March 30, 1812. Served un- 
 til April 14, 1816. 
 
 William Inman, elected March 30, 1812. Served until April 
 II, 1814. 
 
 James Kissam, elected April 19, 181 3. Served until April 
 7, 1817. 
 
 Abraham Van Santvoord, elected April 11, 1814. Served 
 until April 12, 1819. 
 
 Jonathan Hedges, elected April 11, 1814. Served until 
 March 27, 181 5. 
 
 William Jones, elected March 27, 181 5. Served until April 
 7, 1817. 
 
 Killian Winnie, elected April 14, 1816. Served until March 
 
 31, 1823. 
 
 Collings Locke, elected April 7, 18 17. Served until April 
 2Z, 1821. 
 
 Montgomery Hunt, elected April 7, 18 17. Served until 
 December 16, 1818. 
 
 Walter Fleming, elected April 7, 181 7. Served until April 
 3, 1820. 
 
 Francis A. Bloodgood, elected March 23, 1818. Served un- 
 til April 8, 1 82 1. 
 
 William Kyte, elected April 12, 18 19. Served until April 
 3, 1826. 
 
 William Jones, elected April 12, 1819. Served until April 
 3, 1820. 
 
 John Cleaver, elected April 3, 1820. Served until April 23, 
 1821. 
 
 Peter Bours, elected April 3, 1820. Served until April 19, 
 1824. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 141 
 
 Robert Shearman, elected April 23, 182 1. Served until April 
 16, 1827. 
 
 William Hayes, elected April 23, 182 1. Served until April 
 8, 1822. 
 
 Richard B. Lansing, elected April 8, 1822. Served until 
 April 25, 1829. 
 
 James Cochran, elected April 8, 1822. Elected Warden 
 April 3, 1826. 
 
 Montgomery Hunt, elected March 31, 1823. Served until 
 April 12, 1830. 
 
 Thomas H. Hubbard, elected. April 19, 1824. Served until 
 April 25, 1829. 
 
 Elisha Wells, elected April 19, 1824. Elected Warden April 
 20, 1835. 
 
 Henry Seymour, elected April 4, 1825. Served until April 
 16, 1827. 
 
 Augustine G. Dauby, elected April 3, 1826. Served until 
 April id, 1827. 
 
 Rudolph Snyder, elected April 3, 1826. Served until elected 
 Warden April 16, 1827. 
 
 Chester Griswold, elected April 16, 1827. Served until April 
 12, 1830. 
 
 Stephen Walker, elected April 16, 1827. Served until April 
 8, 1833. 
 
 Henry Seymour, elected April 25, 1829. Served until April 
 4, i83<5. 
 
 Augustine G. Dauby, elected April 25, 1829. Served until 
 April 12, 1830. 
 
 Rutger B. Miller, elected April 25, 1829. Served until De- 
 cember 21, 1836. 
 
 S. A. Sibley, elected April 25, 1829. Served until April 12, 
 1830. 
 
 Elon Andrews, elected April 12, 1830. Served until April 
 4, 1831. 
 
142 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Samuel Beardsley, elected April 12, 1830. Served until 
 April 4, 1831. 
 
 Peleg B. Beckham, elected April 12, 1830. Served until 
 April 4, 1836. 
 
 Henry Green, elected April 12, 1830. Served until April 8, 
 
 1833. 
 
 Joseph S. Porter, elected April 4, 183 1. Served until April 
 8, 1833. 
 
 Thomas Colling, elected April 4, 1831. Served until April 
 23, 1832. 
 
 Thomas H. Hubbard, elected April 2^ y 1832. Served until 
 elected Warden April 8, 1833. 
 
 John E. Hinman, elected April 8, 1833. Served until March 
 27, 1837. 
 
 Samuel Beardsley, elected April 8, 1833. Served until April 
 20, 1835. 
 
 Thomas Colling, elected April 8, 1833. Served until April 
 20, 1835. 
 
 Montgomery Hunt, elected April 8, 1833. Served until 
 March 31, 1834. 
 
 Henry Green, elected March 31, 1834. Served until Decem- 
 ber 21, 1836. 
 
 Julius A. Spencer, elected April 20, 1835. Served until 
 March 27, 1837. 
 
 Ziba Lyon, elected April 20, 1835. Served until March 2j r 
 
 1837. 
 John A. Russ, elected April 20, 1835. Served until April 
 
 4, 1836. 
 
 Gerry Sanger, elected April 20, 1835. Served until April 
 4, 1836. 
 
 Hiram Denio, elected April 4, 1836. Served until April 1, 
 1839. 
 
 Charles B. Coventry, elected April 4, 1836. Served until 
 April 8, 1844. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 143 
 
 D. Prentice, elected April 4, 1836. Served until March 27, 
 
 1837. 
 
 Fred Hollister, elected December 21, 1836. Served until 
 April 12, 1841. 
 
 Peleg B. Peckham, elected December 21, 1836. Served 
 until March 27, 1837. 
 
 James Watson Williams, elected March 2j y 1837. Served 
 until April I, 1839. 
 
 Simon V. Oley, elected March 27, 1837. Served until 
 April 12, 1841. 
 
 Richard Brown, elected March 27, 1837. Served until April 
 1, 1839. 
 
 V. V. Livingston, elected March 27, 1837. Served until 
 April 16, 1838. 
 
 David Hunt, Jr., elected March 27, 1837. Served until April 
 
 I, 1839- 
 
 Abraham B. Williams, elected April 16, 1838. Served until 
 April 12, 1 84 1. 
 
 Horatio Seymour, elected April 1, 1839. Elected Warden 
 April 20, 1840. 
 
 Ward Hunt, elected April 1, 1839. Served until March 28, 
 1842. 
 
 Timothy O. Grannis, elected April 1, 1839. Served until 
 March 28, 1842. 
 
 William Bristol, elected April 1, 1839. Served until April 
 24, 1848. 
 
 Hiram Greenman, elected April 20, 1840. Served until 
 April 24, 1848. 
 
 Benj. Owens, elected April 12, 1841. Served until March 
 28, 1842. 
 
 Thomas Colling, elected April 12, 1841. Served until March 
 28, 1842. 
 
 Joseph Benedict, elected April 12, 1841. Served until April 
 18, 1844. 
 
144 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Timothy C. B. Knowlson, elected March 28, 1842. Served 
 until April 18, 1844. 
 
 William Baker, elected March 28, 1842. Served until April 
 
 17, 1843. 
 
 Augustine G. Dauby, elected March 28, 1842. Served un- 
 til April 17, 1843. 
 
 Martin Hart, elected March 28, 1842. Served until April 
 
 17, 1843. 
 
 John A. Russ, elected April 17, 1843. Elected Warden April 
 13, 1846. 
 
 Joab Stafford, elected April 17, 1843. Served until March 
 24, 1845. 
 
 Allen N. Smith, elected April 17, 1843. Served until March 
 24, 1845. 
 
 Benjamin Owens, elected April 8, 1844. Served until April 
 13, 1846. 
 
 Hugh Crocker, elected April 8, 1844. Served until April 
 17, 1854. 
 
 Anson Little, elected April 8, 1844. Served until March 24, 
 
 1845- 
 
 Timothy O. Grannis, elected March 24, 1845. Served until 
 April 5, 1847. 
 
 John J. Francis, elected March 24, 1845. Died May 5, 1877. 
 
 S. V. Vedder, elected March 24, 1845. Served until April 
 13, 1846. 
 
 William Morris, elected April 13, 1846. Served until April 
 24, 1848. 
 
 Joseph A. Shearman, elected April 13, 1846. Elected War- 
 den, 1882. 
 
 Thomas Hopper, elected April 13, 184^. Served until April 
 5> 1847. 
 
 Harry Dows, elected April 5, 1847. Served until April 1, 
 1861. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 145 
 
 Joseph Benedict, elected April 5, 1847. Served until April 
 9, 1849. 
 
 Frederick Hollister, elected April 24, 1848. Served until 
 April 1, 1850. 
 
 David Prentice, elected April 24, 1848. Served until April 
 If 1850. 
 
 Richard Savage, elected April 24, 1848. Served until April 
 1, 1850. 
 
 Timothy O. Grannis, elected April 9, 1849. Served until 
 April 21, 185 1. 
 
 Dr. D. G. Thomas, elected April 1, 1850. Served until 
 March 28, 1853. 
 
 Henry Green, elected April 1, 1850. Served until April 21, 
 1851. 
 
 Hubbard C. Pond, elected April 1, 1850. Served until April 
 17, 1854. 
 
 Selden Collins, elected April 21, 1851. Served until elect- 
 ed Warden, April 1, 1861. 
 
 T. C. B. Knowlson, elected April 21, 1851. Served until 
 April 12, 1852. 
 
 Wm. Bristol, elected April 12, 1852. Served until March 
 24, 1856. 
 
 A. B. Johnson, elected March 28, 1853. Served until April 
 17, 1854. 
 
 Willis Sherwood, elected April 17, 1854. Served until 
 March 24, 185(5. 
 
 John Arthur, elected April 17, 1854. Served until April I, 
 1861. 
 
 Wm. H. Judson, elected April 17, 1854. Served until March 
 24, 1856. 
 
 Hugh Crocker, elected March 24, 1856. Served until 
 April 25, 1859. 
 
 Miles C. Comstock, elected March 24, 1856. Served until 
 elected Warden, February 3, 1886. 
 
146 One Hundred Years of 
 
 Henry Hopson, elected March 24, 1856. Served until April 
 17, 1865. 
 
 Charles B. Foster, elected April 25, 1859. Served until April 
 21, 1862. 
 
 Thomas W. Seward, elected April 1, 1861. Served until 
 March 28, 1864. 
 
 Charles W. Hutchinson, elected April 1, 1861. Served un- 
 til April 22, 1867. 
 
 Edwin B. Russ, elected April 1, 1861. Served until April 
 
 13, 1868. 
 
 Theodore F. Butterfield, elected April 21, 1862. Served un- 
 til April 17, 1876. 
 
 A. L. Woodruff, elected March 28, 1864. Served until 
 April 10, 1882. 
 
 Porteus B. Root, elected April 17, 1865. Served until April 
 I, 1872. 
 
 Thomas W. Seward, elected April 22, 1867. Served until 
 March 29, 1880. 
 
 Charles W. Hutchinson, elected April 13, 1868. Elected 
 Warden May 18, 1887. 
 
 Erastus Blauvelt, elected April 1, 1872. Served until April 
 H, 1873. 
 
 Alfred H. Colling, elected April 14, 1873. Served until 
 April 22, 1878. 
 
 James M. Weed, elected April 17, 1876. Served until April 
 
 14, 1879. 
 
 William M. Storrs, elected August 20, 1877. Elected War- 
 den October 29, 1890. 
 
 Harvey D. Talcott, elected April 22, 1878. Served until 
 April 10, 1882. 
 
 J. G. Marklove, elected April 14, 1879. Died August 21, 
 1891. 
 
 John B. Wild, elected March 29, 1880. Elected Warden 
 March 26, 1894. 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 147 
 
 George M. Weaver, elected April 10, 1882. Elected War- 
 den April 21, 1895. 
 
 Charles E. Chase, elected April 10, 1882. 
 
 Thomas Renswick Colling, elected April 10, 1882. Served 
 April 6, 1885. 
 
 Edmund A. Graham, elected April 6, 1885. Died January 
 27, 1889. 
 
 Henry F. Mansfield, elected February 3, i88(5. Served un- 
 til April 6, 1896. 
 
 N. Curtiss White, elected May 11, 1887. 
 
 Fordyce H. Green, elected April 22, 1889. Died April 27, 
 
 1893. 
 
 John E. McLoughlin, elected October 29, 1890. 
 
 G. Alder Blumer, elected April 18, 1892. 
 
 George Shotthafer, elected March 26, 1894. 
 
 Arthur J. Lux, elected March 26, 1894. Served until April 
 21, 1895. 
 
 John B. Wild, elected April 21, 1895. Served until April 
 <5, 1896. 
 
 Walter S. Crocker, elected April 21, 1895. 
 
 Arthur E. Jones, elected April 6, 1896. 
 
 William H. Hodgkinson, elected April 6, 1896. 
 
 Arthur J. Lux, elected May 20, 1897. 
 
 Arthur Comstock, elected July 7, 1897. 
 
148 One Hundred Years of 
 
 THE CENTENNIAL EXERCISES. 
 
 BY THE REV. JOHN R. HARDING. 
 
 The one hundredth anniversary of Trinity Church's found- 
 ing, was celebrated on June 15 and 16, 1898, immediately fol- 
 lowing the thirtieth annual convention of the Diocese of Cen- 
 tral New York. It was an auspicious occasion for the centen- 
 nial as the appointment of the convention in the parish, thus 
 bringing together a large number of clergymen and laity from 
 all parts of the diocese, added to the attendance and interest 
 in the exercises. 
 
 At the first service on Wednesday evening, June 15, the 
 church was filled to its utmost capacity. The old building 
 was beautifully and appropriately decorated with flowers and 
 the national flag. Mr. William M. Storrs, Senior Warden of 
 the parish, presided at this and all services. 
 
 The congratulatory addresses all breathed the spirit of love 
 and reverence for the mother parish, which is always evident 
 in the city and diocese of its location. And this feeling of 
 friendliness was not only expressed by our venerable Bishop, 
 representing the diocese, by the rector of Grace Church, 
 speaking for the sister parishes, by the beloved rector of old 
 St. Paul's on Paris Hill, but also by Dr. Brown of Westmin- 
 ster Presbyterian Church, bringing the cordial greeting of the 
 city's pastors', by Mayor Kinney for the City of Utica, and Mr. 
 Thomas R. Proctor, president of the Oneida County Histor- 
 ical Society. Everyone felt the significance of the occasion, 
 and entered earnestly into its spirit. The service, the singing, 
 the addresses were hearty and inspiring. Immediately after 
 its close the congregation retired to the parish house, where 
 for two hours the Rector, Wardens, Vestrymen and parishion- 
 ers generally received the personal congratulations of their 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 149 
 
 friends from the city and diocese, in social and delightful con- 
 cord. It was an evening- ever to be remembered in our an- 
 nals. 
 
 Thursday, the idth, a beautiful June day lent all of its 
 charms to the continuation of our birthday keeping. The first 
 address at the 11 o'clock service, "The History of the Church 
 in the Lower Mohawk Valley," by the Rev. J. Philip B. 
 Pendleton, D. D., Rector of St. George's Church, Schenec- 
 tady, N. Y., was both scholarly and instructive. This paper, 
 so full of careful and erudite research, is a most valuable ad- 
 dition to the Church History of this State and valley. 
 
 The second paper at this service, "The Church's Adaptabil- 
 ity to the Spiritual Needs of our Age," by the Rev. William 
 D. Maxon, D. D., rector of Calvary Church, Pittsburg, Pa., 
 and a former rector of this parish, was a most admirable vin- 
 dication of the Catholicity and inclusiveness of the church's 
 position in this day and age. Its language, its delivery, its 
 spirit, all stamped its author as a redoubtable champion for 
 the Church which we all love, and all who heard it were 
 strengthened and uplifted by its sentiments. 
 
 At the close of the service, luncheon was served by the 
 ladies in the parish building, to which all were invited, and 
 where again as on the previous evening good fellowship pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 In the afternoon at 3 o'clock occurred what was to many 
 the most interesting feature of the celebration. "Letters of 
 Reminiscence" recounting memories of olden days, written by 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Brown of Denver, Colorado, Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Arthur of Utica, Mrs. Isabella C. Peas of Mohawk, N. Y., 
 and Mr. Robert J. Hubbard of Canzenovia, N. Y., were read 
 by the Rev. John Arthur, rector of St. John's Church, Oneida, 
 N. Y. The authors of these several letters had all at one time 
 been connected with the parish. Mrs. Brown of Denver, who 
 had reached her 95th year, has died since her letter was sent. 
 
150 One Hundred Years of 
 
 but was represented by her daughter, Mrs. Anna Palmer, who 
 in her love for the old parish had come all the way from Den- 
 ver to be present at this centennial. Mrs. Peas and Mr. Hub- 
 bard were present at the service, and Mrs. Arthur was pre- 
 vented from coming by feeble health. 
 
 Following these letters, Dr. Moses M. Bagg of Utica, the 
 learned historian of our county and city, gave some recollec- 
 tions of Old Trinity during his long life spent in our midst, 
 paying a high tribute to' our honored name in the community. 
 The next speaker was the Rev. Dudley Chase of Philadelphia, 
 Pa., son of the Right Rev. Philander Chase, the founder of 
 the parish in 1798. Mr. Chase, himself an honored clergyman 
 of the church, and now a retired chaplain of the navy, gave 
 his recollections of his father, and the Bishop's early work 
 here and in the West. His very presence at this centennial, 
 so uniting our earliest history with the present, was in itself a 
 benediction. He impressed all who heard and saw him, with 
 his gentle spirit, his courtly manners of the old school, and 
 his ardent reverence for the noble pioneer Bishop, his father. 
 Thus linking the old with the present, our anniversary would 
 have been incomplete without him. 
 
 The concluding service of the centennial was held at 7:30 
 P. M. of this same day. The church was again filled in every 
 part. The first paper, "Some Prominent Laymen of Trinity 
 Church," written by Miss Blandina D. Miller of Utica, and 
 read by Mr. George M. Weaver, Junior Warden of the parish, 
 told the story of the many faithful and distinguished men who 
 during the century had worshiped and labored here. It is a 
 most valuable adjunct not only to our own history, but to 
 ijhat of city, county and State, and as she has shown us, not 
 a few of these mem held also a national reputation. 
 
 The closing paper, "The Work and Characteristics of Trin- 
 ity's Rectors," written by the present incumbent, was an en- 
 deavor to relate what the parish owes to those who under 
 
Trinity Church, Utica, N. Y. 
 
 «5i 
 
 God's blessing have served at its altar from the beginning un- 
 til now. After this the entire congregation joined in the glad 
 acclaim, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," and with 
 the benediction, our centennial came to an end, full of inspira- 
 tion and hopefulness to all who were its privileged witnesses. 
 
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