CHERRY VALLEY
PRESBYTERIAN church. In placing before the reader a history of the church, it is deemed proper to give it in
extenso, as its organization was coincident with the
settlement of the place in 1740, and the annals of the church from that time to the present form, in a large degree, a
history of the village. The Rev. H. U. SWINNERTON, A.
M., the present talented and efficient pastor, added a
valuable contribution to the historic literature of this
locality, by the compilation of a work, entitle "An Historical
Account of the Presbyterian Church at Cherry Valley,
N.Y.," from which the following sketch is compiled:
The church was organized immediately upon the settlement
of the locality, by Rev. Samuel DUNLOP, a graduate of Trinity
college, Dublin. Tradition informs us that on the northern slope
of the hill where was located the house of Mr. LINDESAY,
now the residence of Mr. PHELON, was erected in the first
days of the embryo village, a log church and school-house.
Mr. DUNLOP was not only a minister, but a scholar, and an
earnest friend of that thorough education which has been so
inseparable a part in the history of Presbyterians in Scotland, as
well as all over the world. He became the first apostle of liberal
learning beyond the towns on the coast and the Hudson. He at
once began the teaching of the classics to the boys of the
settlement, and to others who came from the scattering villages
of the Germans on the Mohawk; and it is related of him that as
he guided the ox-team at the plow, the lads followed in the fresh
earth of the farrow, scanning the daily "stent" of Homer or of
Virgil. He was the educator of a number of men who became
eminent and useful in the great struggle which, some years later,
evoked the energies of the youthful nation.
Mr. DUNLOP was an energetic man, and the statement has
come down that, in his desire to meet his brethren in the
ministry, made the long journey to New Hampshire, and
attended presbytery. Though the records of that day, both of
the presbytery and of this church, are lost, there can be little
doubt that the distant charge of Cherry Valley was one of the
twelve churches which are said to have formed the early
presbytery of Boston. At a later time a nearer point of support
was found. The ancestors of De Witt CLINTON had settled at
Little Britain, in Ulster county, near the Hudson in 1731. There
grew up before the Revolution what was called the presbytery of
Ulster; and that as their nearest neighbors, the church and its
pastor seem to have been connected.
But his long trip to the presbytery was not the most distant
journey this active man performed. He seems to have been
capable of undertaking anything when he had a reason. He was
the first person in Cherry Valley to make the voyage to Europe
across the ocean. He was still unmarried, and it was now nearly
seven years since he had left his friends in Ireland. When he
started for America it was to seek a home to which he might
take the young girl who had promised to be his wife. But that
engagement had prudently been made conditional; for, like those
who seek their fortune on the Pacific coast in these days, it was
not uncommon for the adventurer who started for the new
world to be lost by shipwreck, by pirates, or by the Indians, and
never be heard of after. It was too much to ask that the
happiness of her whole life should hang on such chances, and it
was stipulated that if the young minister did not return within
seven years the lady would be free. The time was almost out,
and others had sued for her hand. To one of them she had at
last yielded, and while poor DUNLOP was beating off the
stormy northern coast, panting to make a harbor, the
preparations for the wedding were in progress. He arrived the
day before the marriage, and the last day of the appointed term,
claimed his bride, was joyfully accepted as one returned from
the dead, and lead her away to his wilderness home. Poor lady!
could she have known the scene of bloody violence in which she
was to yield up her life, she might well have hesitated to embark.
The frontier settlement of Cherry Valley prospered and
increased in population.
As years went by death claimed his share from the number of
the people, and a spot was selected on a rise of ground, near the
southern edge of the village, where they were laid away to rest,
and many a rude slab, split from the limestone-ridge hard by,
still marks the spot where a pioneer lies wrapt in his long
slumber, but whose name no hand skilled with chisel was there
to engrave. With their growing numbers better accommodations
for their worship than the old log house could afford became
necessary, and a frame church, the second edifice, was erected
within the limits of the little quiet grave-yard.
Like all the communities of our country, the constant
struggles with the Indians or with the French gave occasion to
develop those war-like qualities which were soon to be useful in
the grandest effort ever made by any nation in the sacred cause
of freedom. Frequent rumors of dangers required that the rifle
should be shouldered by the head of the family, as he led his
wife and children to the house of God, and that the sentry
should pace watchfully to and fro before the door, while the
psalm was lifted up from pious hearts within.
Every man became in some sense a soldier, and even the
efforts of the children in the village street were those of
marching and maneuvering,-- the keen eye of the savage, peering
from the brushwood of the overlooking hill, being at least once
deceived at the sight of their parades into believing that real
soldiers had arrived to garrison the place. Service in the old
French war promoted several members of the church to military
offices of some rank, whose regular commissions are still
preserved, and scare a man was there but had seen something of
war.
The stern occasion for the use of all their bravery and all their
endurance had now come. The Presbyterians of Ireland never
yet wasted too much love on the oppressive government of
Great Britain. The fathers of some of them had been in the
siege of Londonderry and the battle of the Boyne, and we may
be sure that they were Whigs. The stamp-act affair reached
them, and likewise did the proceedings in Boston harbor. When
the news came of what had been done at Concord and
Lexington (brought by a courier hastening west and leaving the
country all on fire with his patriotic fury as he passed), there
was hardly a man who did not resolve to take up the fight.
Before this, Cherry Valley had been included in a territorial
division called Palatine district of the county of Tryon. A
standing committee of safety was formed for the district, with
sub-committees in every hamlet. They were under the rule of
the family of Johnstons, zealous royalists, who formed the
centre of a nest of Tories at Johnstown. Little formidable in
themselves, they were made so by reason of their entire control
of the great Indian league of the Six Nations, who infested the
forests of the whole region. The little church was the scene of
the first meeting of the committee, which convened the people
to denounce the attempts of the Tories by a bold stroke to carry
that part of the country over to the side of the oppressors. By
subverting the grand jury and judges assembled in the spring of
1775 the actions of congress had been denounced, and it was
hoped thereby to array these settlements against the cause of
independence. The patriots in the church subscribed the
following article of association in opposition to that attempt.
(listed page 14)
Thus our church, consecrated already as a set of piety,
became a cradle of liberty and a theatre of heroic action.
Surely, not more adventurous was it to sign the Declaration of
Independence in that old State House at Philadelphia than to
write one's name on that paper in the rude frame church in the
grave-yard at Cherry Valley.
These Presbyterians were the more exasperated in that a large
body of Roman Catholic Highlanders, their own apostate
countrymen, as they regarded them, formed part of the array at
Johnstown with which they were threatened. In a letter to the
committee at Albany, imploring help to save the frontier for
freedom, they concluded as follows:
"In a word, gentlemen, it is our fixed resolution to support
and carry into execution everything recommended by the
Continental Congress, and to be free or die."
A document, still extant, shows in what regard the Christian
Sabbath was held by them in the grand Centennial of a hundred
years ago. The question was not then whether Sunday is a day
of holy rest or a day of worldly pleasure. The following is a
letter written from Cherry Valley in reply to a citation to
convene with the committee at a meeting appointed for a certain
Sunday. It reminds one of the reply of the apostles when they
were forbidden to preach. "Whether it be right in the sight of
God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye: For we
cannot:" Cherry Valley, June 9th, 1772. SIR: We received
yours of yesterday relating to the meeting of the committee on
Sunday, which surprised us not a little, inasmuch as it seemed
not to be in any alarming circumstance; which, if it was, we
should readily attend. But as that does not appear to us to be
the case, we think it is very improper; for unless the necessity of
the committee sitting superexceed the duties to be performed in
attending the public worship of God, we think it ought to be put
off till another day. And therefore we conclude not to give our
attendance at this time unless you adjourn the sitting of the
committee till Monday morning. And in that case we will give
our attendance as early as you please. But otherwise we do not
allow ourselves to be cut short of attending on the public
worship except the case be so necessitous as to exceed sacrifice.
We conclude with wishing success to the common cause, and
subscribe ourselves the free born sons of liberty. John MOORE,
Samuel CLYDE, Samuel CAMPBELL. P. S. If you proceed
to sit on the Sabbath, please to read this letter to the committee,
which we think will sufficiently assign our reasons for not
attending.
These were men who could fight as well as pray. Of the
three, the first was disabled, but the second, then a major, and
the third, then a lieutenant-colonel (with a brother of the latter,
who was killed), were the only men from Cherry Valley in the
battle of Oriskany, and at the close of that stubborn and bloody
action led off the remnant of the regiment of Colonel Cox, who
was killed.
In 1778 a fort was erected on the hill where was located the
church and school-house, the entire establishment being
surrounded by a stockage. The second edifice thus became the
church within the fort. We have now traced the history of the
church to the massacre.
The POST REVOLUTIONARY church. The principle source
from which the following portions of this recital are drawn is an
exceedingly interesting MS. volume, inscribed in a beautiful
hand resembling copperplate, "The Records of the Presbyterian
Church and Congregation in Cherry Valley, Anno Domini
1785." Besides this, which is chiefly a chronicle of the
temporalities, the Records of the Session are extant in four
volumes, commencing in 1804.
The thread of the history is abruptly resumed with the
following and quaint and touching entry upon the first page of
the old record-book. "We, the Ancient Inhabitants of Cherry
Valley, in the County of Montgomery, and the State of New
York, having Returned from Exile finding ourselves destitute of
our Church officers, viz., Deacons and Elders. In consequence
of our difficulties, and other congregations, in similar
circumstances, our legislature thought proper to pass a Law for
the Relief of those (viz., An act to encorporate all Religous
Societies passed April the Sixth, One Thousand Seven Hundred
and Eighty-four). In compliance of said act we proceeded as
follows: ADVERTISEMENT. "At a meeting of a Respectful
Number of the Old Inhabitants of Cherry Valley, it was agreed
upon that an Advertisement be set up to give notice to all the
former Inhabitants that are Returned to their Respective
Habitations to meet in the Meeting House yard on Tuesday the
Fifth Day of April Next at Ten O'clock before Noon, then and
there to choose Trustees who shall be a Body corporate for the
purpose of taking care of the Temporalities of their Respective
Presbyterian Congregation agreeable to an act (etc.)
"Cherry Valley, March 10, 1785. "Samuel CLYDE, Justice of
the Peace."
Thus, with neither minister nor missionary nor any of those
specially qualified persons at hand who are generally the prime
movers in religious undertakings, not even a deacon or elder, the
forlorn remnant of the people of Cherry Valley who had escaped
the ravages of war and of the massacre, true to their pious
training, out of their desire to worship God, and under the
leadership of the civil magistrate, assume that right to form
themselves into a church, which is inherent in Christians in such
circumstances, without regard or precedent or ecclesiastical
succession. The war, which so severely tried the colonies,
received its finishing stroke in the surrender of Cornwallis at
Yorktown in October, 1781; but it was not until late in 1783 that
the armies were disbanded, a treaty with Great Britain having
been signed in September that year. For a space the energies of
the young nation seemed paralyzed with its efforts, and with the
vision of success. It was not till the second year after this that
the survivors of Cherry Valley came to search among the thicket
of young vegetation for the boundaries of their farms and the
relics of their home. They met informally, as we have seen, to
take measures for the rehabilitation of their church, and the
advertisement was set up in March, 1795.
There is something extremely impressive in the thought of
that assemblage of returned "exiles" in the meeting-house yard,
deliberating in the cold March air, amid the blackened ruins of
their sanctuary and the graves of their dead, upon the prospects
of rebuilding the house of God. The artist, seeking to perpetuate
upon the canvas the spirit of that earnest period, could scarcely
find a more fitting subject for his pencil. Great drifts of snow
there frequently still cover the ground at that season; but, if
otherwise, we may imagine the unpromising features of the
landscape which formed the ground of the picture; the arching
stems of the raspberry making a tangle over the low
gravestones, through which it was difficult to walk, the trees
bare of leaves; the nearer hills lonely and gray, save where
patches of hemlock varied the tone with touches of blackness;
and the distant summits far down the valley fading to shades of
cold steel-blue under the cloudy and threatening sky. The
costumes of the figures, the brown doublet or heavily caped
greatment of gray; the blue Continental uniform, and rough
hunter's legging of leather, would give diversity to the group; but
what a master-hand must not it be that could render the firm and
rugged lines in the faces of the men!
The names of twenty-one electors are recorded who elected
three trustees, Samuel CLYDE, John CAMPBELL, Jr., and
James WILLSON. The last accompanied LINDESAY in 1739
when he came to locate his patent, and seems to have been the
surveyor. He purchased a farm in 1745, and the old parchment
deed describes him as the high sheriff of Albany county, which
at that earliest period extended over this district. The returning
officers were Colonel CAMPBELL and Wm. DICKSON, the
latter the ancestor of Rev. Cyrus DICKSON, of New York.
The corporate body was kept up from this time forward; but
in the first years the church was left to care for itself without the
assistance of a regular minister, worship being maintained with
such temporary help as could from time to time be procured in a
region so isolated. By 1790 a meeting-house had been erected,
but from subsequent records of the post-revolutionary church
seems for many years to have been without regular furniture,
and in the barest possible condition. In 1796 the names of
fifty-four others are entered as "members of the first
Presbyterian congregation." Among these is that of Rev.
Solomon SPAULDING, a man whose literary labors
subsequently became an instrument in supporting the most
scandalous imposture our county has produced. We read in
Scripture of an old prophet at Bethel, who preferred dwelling
among the ten tribes to ministering to the faithful people, and
whose preference therein ultimately led to deplorable mischief.
Mr. SPAUDLING doubtless anticipated no such results, but
having abandoned the ministry, he devoted his leisure to some
unprofitable speculations about those same lost Tribes of Israel.
On this he wrote a romance, detailing an imaginary history, and
identifying them with the aborigines of this continent, whom he
describes as coming to this country by a log journey through
various lands from Jerusalem, under two leaders, Nephi and
Lehi, and giving rise to the traces of art and civilization which
exist in the mounds, and other relics which still are so perplexing
a problem to scholars. The MS. of this work being sent to a
printing-office, where its absurdity caused it to be refused, it was
copied by one RIGDON and thence came into the hands of
Joseph SMITH, the pretended prophet of the "Latter-Day
Saint," became the source of the pretended revelation of the
"Golden Leaves," and now survives, with a few additions from
Scripture, as the Book of Mormon.
Somewhere before this time an energetic effort was made in
behalf of education and a handsome building was erected for an
academy, which long exerted the happiest influence on the
culture of the neighborhood, and sent out numbers of men who
became prominent throughout the country. Mr. SPAULDING
appears to have taught in this institution, and doubtless he
occasionally preached in the church, and baptized the children.
But in this year both church and school were to secure the
services of a man whose labors in the latter soon raised it to
great efficiency, and who himself rapidly rose to eminence as an
eloquent divine and efficient supporter of education. An entry in
the Record, Aug. 15, 1796, states that the question "whether this
society will give the Rev. Mr. Eliphalet NOTT a call to settle as
our minister," was carried in the affirmative, and a subscription
opened to raise money for his support.
Dr. NOTT came from Connecticut in the summer of 1795,
as a licentiate missionary to these parts, being then at the age of
twenty-one and recently married; reaching the place by the great
turnpike from Albany, to which this country was soon to be
opened up for rapid development, but which was then only
recently cut through, and passable only on horseback. He
himself describes the pleasing emotions with which he gazed
down upon the smiling valley with its nestling village and waving
cultivated fields, after the rough uninhabited country which
intervened for long distances between it and the more easterly
settlements. * Filled with melancholy thoughts at his lonely
situation in a region so distance, and where he supposed all
would be entire strangers, he stopped at a house to ask for some
refreshment, when to his surprise he was greeted by name. It
was an old Connecticut acquaintance, Mr. Ozias WALDO, who
received him most cordially and at once urgently besought that
he would tarry and take charge of the church, of which himself
long after continued an active and useful member. Engagements
further on required Mr. NOTT's attention; but the call was
made out, and after some hesitation he returned and took up his
labors as both preacher in the church and teacher in the
academy, which was soon thronged with pupils. In his letter of
acceptance, a characteristic document recorded in his own hand,
he dwells on the "distance from ministerial assistance and
advice" as making him hesitate, but speaks of the prevalence of
infidelity and the "destitute and broken state" of the society,
which he calls a "solitary Zion," not as deterring, but as the
reasons for not "deserting" it.
* Memoirs of Dr. NOTT
A proposal that the call should require Mr. NOTT to "put
himself under the direction and inspection of the presbytery of
this State," seems to have led to the appointment of Mr.
SPAULDING to present the call to presbytery; but apparently
nothing was done, for the young preacher was not ordained till
he became pastor in Albany. He himself, however, in one of his
letters, relates the circumstances under which he was led to
become a Presbyterian. On his way to the west he stopped at
Schenectady, and going into a prayer-meeting was asked to
preach by Dr. John Blair SMITH, the president of Union
college. In a long conversation afterwards he explained the
object of his journey, which was as a missionary of the
Congregational church. But he was deeply impressed with the
views of his host, that as the New England people and the
Presbyterians in the new region were so much in accord on
points and doctrines, it seemed unwise and unchristian to
encourage them in maintaining a profitless division of their
strength, that they sought to be induced to unite, and join efforts
in the Master's cause. These arguments gave a new direction to
the young man's life; he abandoned Congregationalism, and lent
his influence to form that "plan of union" which led to the
building up of so many large and prosperous churches. There is
no record of the results of his labors as the supply of the little
congregation, and his stay extended to but two years. But he
here first established his household, made ties of friendship
which lasted as long as his extended life, and formed that
attachment for the place which caused it ever to dwell in his
memory among his most pleasing associations. He loved to
revisit the beautiful valley which had been the scene of his early
endeavors, and in his old age he resolved plans for giving it
lasting benefit by aiding in the establishment of its ancient
academy on the basis of a substantial endowment.
In 1798 his young wife was conveyed for her health to
Ballston Springs, whose waters were already becoming famous.
There is some obscurity in the accounts, but it appears to have
been at this time that he tarried at Schenectady, being on his
way to see his wife, and to attend a meeting of the presbytery
of Albany at Salem, when Dr. SMITH, after hearing him
preach, urged him to return by way of Albany, and occupy the
pulpit of the Presbyterian church there which was then vacant.
Whether he was then already a member of the presbytery, as his
Memoirs state (in which case we could expect that he would
have been ordained and installed, on being received by it, over
his Cherry Valley charge), or whether he made his journey for
the purpose of connecting himself with the presbytery, with
installation then in view, is not clear. At all events the journey
lost him to Cherry Valley; he preached at Albany, was
immediately called to that important charge, and a few years
later had become famous among the clergymen of the country.
In 1804 he became president of Union college, where for an
extended period he filled that sphere of eminence and
usefulness, whose events are a part of the history of our progress
during the past century.
By loss of its minister the little church was again left to its
own meagre resources in its difficult struggle, and several years
elapsed before it secured the services of a regular pastor.
Trustees were regularly elected each year, but no minister is
mentioned, except Mr. SPAULDING, till 1802, when Rev.
Thos. Kirby KIRKHAM was employed for at least one year,
one-quarter of his time to be devoted to Middlefield. In Dr.
NOTT's time efforts had been made to furnish the church, and
the proposal started to erect a better one. It seems to have been
greatly needed, for so unattractive was its appearance that is is
related that a traveler on passing it exclaimed, "that he had many
times seen the house of God, but never before had he beheld the
Lord's barn!" It stood on the site of the previous one in the
grave-yard, a plain building, fifty feet square, without steeple or
ornament. Within was a gallery on three sides, and on the
fourth was a round, barred pulpit mounted on a post, the pews
being of the high-backed, square, uncomfortable pattern usual at
the period, neither padded nor cushioned. For many years there
was neither chimney nor stove, any more than the old
Covenanters had when they met in conventicle on the Scotch
hillsides. The feeble warmth of the foot-stoves carried by the
women barely sufficed to keep the congregation from freezing
as they listened to Dr. NOTT's young and fervid oratory in the
keen air of winter. The writer has more than once preached in
Cherry Valley when the thermometer outside was at eighteen or
twenty degrees below zero; and when it was at that stage inside,
what must not have been the devotion that could keep a
congregation together! We do not wonder at finding a record
that there should be but one service at that season of the year.
Mr. KIRKHAM's labors seem to have led to little fruit, and he
appears not to have been re-engaged.
We have seen that the church was organized hitherto in that
somewhat informal manner which circumstances permitted. A
body of Christians desiring to worship God, they had builded a
church and employed ministers to maintain the ordinances so far
as they could be obtained. They evidently endeavored to regain
the presbyterial recognition which they had before the war; but
this their remoteness prevented, or their insignificance failed to
evoke. Mr. NOTT being without ordination prevented the
institution of new elders, though one or two who had been such
in the old church are believed to have been on the ground. Old
"Deacon" John MOORE had been a chaplain in the first
provincial congress of New York, in 1775, of which he was a
member. With such facts it would seem an absurd piece of
punctiliousness to assert, on account of some unavoidable
defects, that they were not a church. An army does not cease to
be an army because its officers have fallen. They had the fact
that they were a Christian body united for worship; they had set
up the house of God sixty years before. Old Dominie DUNLOP
had gone hundreds of miles to presbytery; as soon as they
returned from exile, before their own houses were rebuilt, they
had solemnly met in the grave-yard to rehabilitate the sanctuary.
The church members were there, and they called themselves a
"Presbyterian church and congregation." They had one pastor,
and had employed at least two other preachers of the gospel.
No temporary neglects or flaws in the strict routine of
ecclesiastical order could destroy the fact that they were a
church of Christ and a Presbyterian church. But despite all this
a precisian now appears who swept it all aside, and, seemingly on
his own responsibility, took it in hand, forsooth, to give it
existence, and at the same time to impress upon it a new
character, and introduce usages entirely foreign to its wont. In
January, 1804, Rev. Isaac LEWIS came from Cooperstown,
then a small place not long settled, and finding the church
without a pastor or active officers (though the members still held
together, and meetings for prayer were kept up weekly), not only
lent his assistance to ordain elders in the church but treated it as
if it were not in existence, as the record runs in the
session-book, "organized into a church" a certain number, only
fourteen in all, whose names are recorded. Mr. LEWIS, the
author of this doubtless well-meant, but rather sweeping and
gratuitous measure, was a Presbyterian, but seems to have been
reared under Congregational usages, and it was under his
influence and at this time that the church was led to impose
upon itself a long and domatical "confession of faith" and
"covenant" after the Congregational fashion, apparently
ignorant, or else forgetful, that the proper and only authorized
standards of the Presbyterian church are those of the
Westminster assembly, adopted by general assembly in 1768.
Half a dozen years later, Mr. COOLEY, better acquainted with
the Presbyterian ways, brought this anomaly in the practice of
the church to the notice of session, and appended a note to the
record, stating that "the session thinks it not proper to require it
of members, inasmuch as the printed confession of the
Presbyterian church (i.e. the Westminster) clearly and fully
express all articles of faith and practice derived from the Word
of God." (1811.) Notwithstanding this repudiation some later
pastors revised the use of them, and in 1854 they were printed
in pamphlet form. In August, 1873, they were formally set
aside by session, and the action, with the reasons for it, entered
upon the minutes.
The effort secured little fruit beyond amending the
organization and enrollment of the fourteen members. There
are evident traces that the innovation was displeasing to the
church on the simple terms of repentance towards God and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, and under the old Westminster
symbols, literally construed, and with the largest respect for the
right of private judgment, as was usual in the Scotch church.
Not till three years later did any of the old stock allow their
names to be entered, when four only were received, not on their
subscribing to the covenant, but on the ground that they had
been members in Mr. DUNLOP's time, while many others
remained out altogether, as we infer from the absence of so
many of the old names, especially of the men, from the roll.
A long narrative, under the date 1806, records the goodness
and mercy of God in answering the prayers of the church for an
"ambassador to watch over the flock of Christ and warn sinners
to repentance," by the arrival of Rev. Geo. HALL, who was
called in February on a salary of $500.
The old church was now so out of repair as to be dangerous
to health in winter, and it was proposed that service be held in
"the south room of the academy, excepting on every 5th
Sabbath that the Episcopalians expect their pastor to preach
there," which is the first notice of a worshipping body of
Episcopalians among us. The pastor referred to was doubtless
the widely useful Father NASH, the pioneer of Episcopacy in
these parts. The old meeting-house told on Mr. HALL's health
severely, and he resigned in 1807.
Luther Rich, a name often seen on the records, was in 1801
elected to the constitutional convention, of which Aaron BURR
was president, as was Joseph CLYDE in that [omitted] of 1821.
Rev. Andrew OLIVER was then pastor at Springfield, and appears
to have lent his service to our church from time to time during the
three years before a pastor was again settled. In Mr. NOTT's
day the Springfield church is spoken of as applying for his
ministration for half the time, an overture which was refused, but
which shows there was a church there as early as 1797. In 1800,
Rev. Jedediah BUSHNELL, a missionary, visited the place, and a
revival broke out, which extended to several other towns, and
seventeen persons were added to the church. Mr. OLIVER
became their pastor in 1806. The Baptists had formed a church
in Springfield in 1797, under Elder Wm. FURMAN, which
flourished.
Rev. Jesse Townsend preached in the summer of 1810; but
at the close of that season was to begin the first extended pastorate
of this period of the old church. It was that of Rev. Eli F. COOLEY,
LL.D., a well-educated, prudent, and able man, who had graduated
at Princeton in 1806, and having concluded the required three years
of theological study, came as a licentiate of the presbytery of New
Brunswick, and began to preach in October, having been called
in August. An earnest effort was made to secure his services, and
$600 having been raised on his salary, he determined upon a
permanent settlement, and was installed by the presbytery of
Oneida in February following.
The fourteen members had, in the six years till he came, risen
to thirty-seven, but when he retired, in 1820, the list had swelled
to two hundred and twenty-six, the best evidences both of the
prosperity of the place, and the efficiency of his labors. But,
notwithstanding this, he was compelled to resign in March, 1820,
on account of the inadequate support. He died, at an advanced
age, in 1860.
Among the more prominent men whose names are associated
with the church at this period and the years succeeding were,
as trustees, Lester HOLT, Levi BEARDSLEY, James BRACKETT,
Isaac SEELYE (sic), Jabez D. HAMMOND, most of whom were
lawyers of great ability. The last mentioned was an author of
considerable merit. His "Political History of the State of New York,"
and "Life and Times of Silas Wright," are works of standard
authority, and extremely valuable contributions to historical
literature. He was a member of congress in 1815-18. Mr.
BEARDSLEY was a prominent citizen and a lawyer of wide
reputation.
Dr. Joseph WHITE and Alvan STEWART were widely known
and universally respected, the former (who, though an Episcopalian,
co-operated with the church for some time) as a physician of
remarkable capacity, whose practice embraced an area of very
great extent, the latter as a radical reformer and man of original
genius and great wit, who became one of the earliest apostles of
the temperance cause and in the abolition of slavery. As elders,
besides Joshua TUCKER, Elijah BLECHER, and Jason WRIGHT,
who begin the list, the most efficient were Ozias WALDO, Samuel
HUNTINGTON, James O. MORSE, and David H. LITTLE.
Mr. Little, an elder from 1832 to 1870, when he removed to
Rochester, was identified with the religious concerns of this region
till his death, in 1873. James Otis MORSE, an elder from 1821,
was eminent in the law, and exerted a wide influence in public
affairs. His portrait and that of his wife, two remarkable pictures,
the work of the great inventor of the telegraph, in his early artist
days, adorn the walls of the family mansion. Portraits of Dr. and
Mrs. WHITE, by the same hand, are in the possession of their
descendant, Mrs. A. B. COX. Perhaps the most zealous and
certainly the most successful among the long list of ministers this
church has had was Rev. John TRUAIR, who was called in July ,
1820, he having, with Mr. COOLEY, Mr. OLIVER, and others,
formed the presbytery of Otsego in 1819, when the old Oneida
presbytery was divided. He was of English birth, a man educated,
talented, and full of vim; of excessive activity, of great and
persuasive powers as a speaker, and so successful in bringing souls
to Christ as to merit comparison with preachers of the type of Mr.
Moody. His pastorate, though of less than two years, was a time
of extraordinary growth. Forty-six persons were at once added to
the church in the fall of the year he came, and one hundred and
twenty the next. Traces of his activity are seen in the frequency
with which he assembled his efficient session, thirty-eight sittings
being held in the year and three-quarters while he was pastor,
and sometimes as many as six in a single month. He was seized
with great zeal to save the godless seamen of New York; and his
vehemence is exhibited in the fervid and urgent reasoning of a
long letter he recorded, when beseeching permission to withdraw
in order to undertake work among the unpromising class, to which
he had received an earnest summons, and for which his rugged
eloquence no doubt eminently fitted him. The value the church
placed in this extraordinary man is seen in their granting him six
months' leave of absence, owing to ill health, with continued pay,
and supply his pulpit, Rev. Charles James Cook being secured
for the purpose. His request was most reluctantly consented to.
He had the restless, untiring spirit of an evangelist and successful
harvester of souls, for which the seed had been planted by faithful
predecessors. The pastoral relation was dissolved March 24, 1822,
and on the following Sunday he celebrated his last communion
with the people who prized him so well, eight more having been
added to the church, making one hundred and seventy-four in all,
and swelling the list to four hundred, certainly a strong church for
that day.
Before Mr. COOLEY left, a serious effort had been made to
erect a new church by the appointment of a committee, among
whom were Mr. MORSE and Oliver JUDD, the latter the head
of an ingenious family who came from Connecticut, and
established themselves in the manufacture of iron, and all of
whom being musical, long sustained the efficiency of the service
of song. Edwin JUDD, who might have been called like
Aristides, the just, bore the character of a Nestor to the village,
and sang in the choir for forty years, scarcely missing a Sunday.
Mr. TRUAIR imparted fresh energy to the building movement,
but his departure delayed the plan for a few years longer. The
church, however, was not to sink again into inactivity, for scarce
a month had passed when Rev. Charles FITCH, a Princetonian
licentiate, was called, and Aug. 22, 1822, he was ordained. The
old church was now too ruinous for use; a proposal to repair it
was negatived, and a fresh committee instructed to devise ways
and draft a plan for another, the services being held meanwhile
in the Lancasterian school-house. An inkling of the usages of
life at that period is seen in the record that a certain apprentice
was suspended from the church for running away from his
master to parts unknown; and entries of the period fill long
pages with the painful and sometimes ludicrous accounts of
regular trials in case of discipline. The conditions of religious life
seem to have improved since then, and perhaps there has been
some accession of discreteness to the church. Mr. FITCH was
not well sustained, and applied for a dismissal November, 1824,
leaving the spring following. Rev. James B. AMBLER
succeeded as stated supply, from May, 1825, till July, 1827.
The efforts in regard to a new building were crowned with
success in that year, and the WHITE FRAME CHURCH reared
its handsome steeple to a height of about a hundred feet in the
air. It was in the classic style then so universally in vogue;
apparently modeled after one of the numerous churches of Sir
Christopher Wren, and became in its turn the model of many
churches in this part of the country. In front was a portico with
four elegant Tuscan pillars, above which rose the steeple, story
on story to the summit, which was adorned with a tinned dome,
and gilt ball and vane, the latter being the same that surmounts
the present spire. The gallery occupied three sides, the pulpit
being between the entrances, with choir and small organ above
it. The old meeting-house was sold and the proceeds devoted to
fencing the venerated and historic burial-ground, the new church
having been built upon the site now occupied, a short distance
further up the street. The church was painted in that dazzling
white so invariably chosen for the structure of the American
village of the period whether to delude the beholder into the idea
that he was gazing on classic forms in marble, or because white
being as philosophers tell us, the sum of all the hues of the
rainbow united, it was thought impossible to go wrong with it. It
at all events seems to have been considered as the beau ideal for
an element of harmony with the intense green of the window-
blinds and the surrounding verdure. But it was a very pretty
church as was, and still is the village itself; embosomed in lovely
maples (thanks to an old fellow named GREGG, who set them
out at a shilling apiece) and set round about with hills, whose
tops were crowned with nodding forests, with its little irregular
square, on which were the taverns, the bank, and the stores, and
to which converged the four or five highways that came in from
among the fragrant fields in as many different directions and with
its three or four churches, its pleasant houses, and green, shady
lawns. The demands of business had led to the establishment of
the Central bank as early as 1816, being then the only bank in
this region, and in 1829 Mr. Horatio J. OLCOTT came here as
its cashier, since which period his name has been a part of the
history of the church, and a power in the financial concerns of
the region being a most serviceable supporter of the former in
various capacities, especially as the efficient treasurer, and
becoming an elder in 1875. Many of those who had been
prepared for life in the academy reaped success in various fields,
and as its importance as a place of enterprise declined some of
them gradually returned to enjoy a more leisurely life, and the
old village assumed the air of a place of prosperous and quiet
retirement. The sulphur waters of Sharon and Richfield, on
either hand, began to attract numbers of people every summer in
search of health or of purer air, who loved to drive out to
Cherry Valley to enjoy its charming and extensive prospects, and
those of them that were privileged share the social cheer of its
delightful homes.
Among those who came back to enjoy the felicities of rural
life at different times were Judge George D. CLYDE and Samuel
CAMPBELL, Esq., who retired after successful careers and
Henry ROSEBOOM, who retired from mercantile life. All were
descended from old settled families, and by their interest in
church affairs greatly compensated for the love of those who
were departing. Mr. CLYDE, who returned in 1852, was judge
of the county of Columbia, and died in 1868. His was a family
of influence, his grandfather, Colonel CLYDE, having been the
magistrate under whose call the church had reassembled after the
war.
Rev. C. W. D. TAPPAN was called March, 1828, but was
dismissed at the end of the year. The accessions were slender at
that period, and causes had begun to work which greatly
diminished the importance of the village, commercially, as well as
the prominence of the church. As I have hinted, the character of
the place was changing through causes that were irresistible; new
lines of travel were opening up which diverted that stream of life
which had hitherto poured through and drained off much of its
young and enterprising talent. The Erie canal was completed in
1825, and a few years later the locomotive followed along the
level stretch bordering the Mohawk, and across the low divide to
the lakes, which constitute the natural channel of commerce
from the east to the west. The old highway along the hills
became a deserted country road. The mere rivulet only of traffic
was left from the south to the canal and railway. At a later time
this also was dried by the building of the Albany and
Susquehanna railroad south of us; when it became necessary for
us to regain communication with the outer world by a railroad of
our own, or sink into entire insignificance, an ineffectual attempt
towards this same end by carrying a plank-road to Fort Plain, in
1850, only serving to demonstrate the necessity. This however,
is anticipating.
When Rev. Alex. M. COWAN was called, Oct. 8, 1829,
there were still 212 members, but at the end of his time,
notwithstanding some 50 additions, the losses being greater than
the gain, the total had fallen to 208. Installed February, 1830, he
remained till September, 1833. Frequent mention is now made
of dismissals to the two Methodist churches of the village, which
about this time began to spring up, besides numerous others of
that and other denominations in every surrounding hamlet.
From this period to the year 1868 the church was under
the pastoral care of the following, sucessively: Rev. William
LOCHEAD, Albert V. H. POWELL, William LUSK, Geo. S.
BOARDMAN, John G. HALL, James H. DWIGHT, Alex. L.
TWOMBLY, Edward P. GARDNER.
The history of the church is thus brought down to the time
when the present pastor began his labors, May, 1868, his call
being dated February 26, and his installation taking place June 18
of the same year.
From the narrative as a whole the following may be derived
as a general summary. The church, founded in 1741, has existed
over a period of one hundred and thirty-five years. It has had
five successive church edifices in three different locations. It has
received the labors of twenty-two different ministers, including
the present, besides occasional temporary supply. Of these
twenty-two, fifteen have been regularly installed pastors.
Mr. DUNLOP's pastorate was violently ended after he had
been on the field for thirty-seven years. Mr. COOLEY served
ten years, and Mr. HALL seven. The other pastorates ranged
from five years to one or two.
The following is the list, with the years of their labors
[pastors printed in small caps; stated supplies in roman;
other supplies in italics]:
(I used p for pastors; s for stated supplies; o for other supplies)
p Samuel DUNLOP.....1741-78
s Eliphalet NOTT.....1796-98
s Thos. K. KIRKHAM.....1803-04
p Geo. Hall.....1806-07
s Jesse TOWNSAND.....1810
p Eli F. COOLEY.....1810-20
pJohn TRUAIR.....1820-22
o Charles Jas. COOK.....1822
p Charles FITCH.....1822-24
o Evans BEARDSLEY.....1825
s Jas. B. AMBLER.....1825-27
p C. W. D. TAPPAN.....1828-29
p Alex. M. COWAN.....1830-33
p Wm. LOCHEAD.....1834-38
p Alabert V. H. POWELL.....1838-39
p William LUSK.....1841-46
p Geo. S. BOARDMAN.....1847-49
p John G. HALL.....1850-57
s Jas. H. DWIGHT.....1857-58
p Alex. S. TWOMBLY.....1858-62
p Edward P. GARDNER.....1862-67
p Henry U. SWINNERTON.....1868
The following is a list of the elders since 1804, twenty-two in
all:
Joshua TUCKER*.....1804
Elijah BELCHER+.....1804
Jason WRIGHT+.....1804
John HORTON*.....1807
John HORTON, Jr.+.....1807
Ozias WALDO*.....1807
John GAULT*.....1808
Jesse JOHNSON*.....1814
James THOMPSON+.....1814
James CHURCH*.....1816
Hugh ROBINSON*.....1819
Ephraim HANSON+.....1819
Samuel HUNTINGTON+.....1819
James O. MORSE*.....1821
Alfred CRAFTS*.....1821
Benjamin TUCKER+.....1832
David H. LITTLE*.....1832
Hubbard METCALF.....1840
Charles G. HAZELTINE+.....1853
A. Beach GILES+.....1853
Elijah R. THOMPSON.....1875
Horatio J. OLCOTT.....1875
* Deceased + Dismissed to other churches
The names of eight hundred and sixty-four persons are on the
extant roll who at different times have been members of the
church from 1804. There is no list of the members previous to
the massacre; but presuming that as many as one hundred and
thirty-six must have been gathered during the long ministry of Mr.
DUNLOP, we may make the total one thousand. The old
church has, therefore, in heaven and on earth a numerous flock,
even as it has had many shepherds. It has had a long history,
and has not existed in vain. Its honorable record is worthy of
preservation, and there is a feeling of satisfaction in preservation,
and there is a feeling of satisfaction in submitting the story of its
career as of a duty performed such as one generation owes to
those which have preceded it. On the 14th of May, 1872, the
board of trustees received the following generous and
unexpected proposal in regard to a new church edifice:
To the Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church of the Town of
Cherry Valley:
Gentlemen,-It is more than forty years since your present
church edifice as erected. Extensive repairs would be
necessary to render it comfortable for the society. I propose
to render repairs unnecessary by the erection of a new church
edifice, and accordingly tender to you this proposition. If you
will authorize me to dispose of the present building in such a
manner as I may deem best, I will cause the same to be taken
down or moved away, and build and finish on the same site,
ready for use by the congregation, a suitable edifice of stone.
In this undertaking I am mindful of my family's connection
with the town since its early settlement, and of that family and
personal connection with the church which has continued for
four generations, and propose to erect a building which may
serve as a grateful memorial to my beloved parents and dear
sister, deceased, and which, while it will be an ornament to my
native town, will, I hope, prove a pleasant and attractive
religious home for many coming generations.
Thankful to Almighty God for the numerous blessings bestowed
upon my family and myself in the years that have passed, and for
the opportunity to devote a portion of His good gifts to me to His
service, I am very truly your friend and co-worker.
Catherine ROSEBOOM Cherry Valley, May 4, 1872.
This liberal offer was of course accepted, and on Sunday,
May 19, 1872, divine services were held for the last time in the
old church. It was soon after taken down, and on the 11th day
of the following month the foundations for the new edifice
were begun.
No sacred deposits were found in the old foundation.
The corner-stone was laid July 25, a brief historical account
of the church (published in the Gazette of August 4) being
deposited in it, with other documents and mementos. The
work proceeded without accident, attaining its completion
by Oct. 1, 1873, when the dedication took place, of which
a full account was also published in the Gazette, with a
description of the building. It was a beautiful day, and a
great concourse of people filled the building to overflowing.
The printed programme bore a list of the chief dates in the
history. After the invocation and some responsive psalms, the
keys of the edifice were received from the donor, Miss Kate
ROSEBOOM, and delivered to the trustees for the use of the
people, by Hon. William W. CAMPBELL, who accompanied
the act with a short address, reviewing the career of the church
in the past. After a reply by Mr. H. J. OLCOTT, on behalf of
the trustees and the people, expressive of their thanks for the
gift, the sermon was preached by Rev. Anson J. Upson, D.D.,
of Albany, from Psalm cxxii. The church was then solemnly
dedicated to the service of God in prayer by the pastor, and
after addresses by Rev. P. F. Sanborn and F. B. Savage, the
audience passed to the lecture-room, where a repast was spread.
Nelson M. Whipple, Esq., of Brooklyn, is the architect
of the building. The style chosen is the early English,
inclining to the decorated. Three varieties of stone enter
into the composition of the walls, dark blue limestone, with
light gray foundations and coigns, and red New Jersey
sandstone arches and copings. While extremely plain, it
has an air of great solidity, and presents an appearance of
cheerful dignity and conscientious treatment. The interior
is finished in solid walnut, the walls and windows being
richly decorated in warm colors, and the upholstering, etc.,
of deep crimson, in good keeping. The edifice has a clerestory
nave and two aisles. The spire, which is 150 feet
high, occupies one angle, and being the point of connection
between the church proper and the lecture-room adjoining,
constitutes the central feature of the front as a whole. On
the south face of the tower is the monogram, C. R., worked
in the masonry; and over the porch the initials of the
architect. Beneath the rear part is a handsome parlor, with
suitable closets, and a pastor's room, connecting with the
pulpit. These apartments are the special quarters of the
Ladies' society, an institution which was formed in 1868,
and which has since always been a most and useful adjunct in
the work of the church. Each new project has generally
here been taken up and commended to the support of the
congregation. By this means there have been successively
undertaken improvements in the heating and lighting of the
old church and session-house, repairs on the parsonage and
on the organ, carpets, upholstery and pulpit furniture for
the new church, the gas machines and fixtures, furnishing
of the parlor, etc., besides much benevolent work. It has
thus proved a highly useful vehicle in developing the activity
of the church, besides affording a pleasing medium
for social intercourse. Ample accommodations for the
Sunday-school are afforded in the lecture-room, which has
a primary school-room attached.
A most gratifying increase of interest was at once noticeable,
several persons being received into the church on
the first Sabbath of its occupancy. In January, 1875,
union services were held alternately with the M. E. Church
in the observance of the Week of Prayer, Rev. W. F. TOOKE
being pastor of that church, and laboring assiduously to
deepen the impressions of the people An unusual degree
of religious interest was developed. The meetings were
sustained almost nightly till April, with effective assistance
from Rev. Mr. Thurston, of Syracuse, and Rev. Mr. Blinn,
of Cambridge, for some weeks. Twenty-six persons united
with the church as the fruit of this effort, one-half of whom
were men, and a number heads of families. A revival
followed the present year in the M. E. Church, resulting
in an unprecedented accession to its numbers, and in which
we had a generous share. The general improvement in the
state of religion is not the least happy effect of these blessed
visitations, a deeper feeling of seriousness having been
thrown over the entire community, awakening a more
earnest prayerfulness, and exciting the hope that greater
blessings are to follow. A Young Men's Christian Association
has been formed, with a large number of members.
The cause of temperance has received fresh attention of
late years, and there is a stronger sentiment springing up
with respect to that extremely important reform
The progress during the period of eight years embraced
in the present pastorate is indicated by the subjoined table,
which gives the baptisms, the additions to the church and
departures from it.
Year ending April, 1869...Mem. 121; recd by profession 3,
letter 1=125 total; 2 died; 7 discharged; 2 adult baptisms
Year ending April, 1870...Mem. 116; recd by profession 7,
letter 5=128 total; 2 died; 3 discharged; 5 adult baptisms;10 Infant baptisms
Year ending April, 1871...Mem. 123; recd by profession 1,
letter 1=125 total; 0 died; 6 discharged; 1 adult baptisms;
Year ending April, 1872...Mem. 119; recd by profession 3,
letter 2=124 total; 3 died; 4 discharged; 3 adult baptisms;2 Infant baptisms
Year ending April, 1873...Mem. 117; recd by profession 2,
letter 5=127 total; 4 died; 4 discharged; 2 adult baptisms;1 Infant baptisms
Year ending April, 1874...Mem. 116; recd by profession 10,
letter 4=130 total; 3 died; 3 discharged; 8 adult baptisms;3 Infant baptisms
Year ending April, 1875...Mem. 124; recd by profession 8,
letter 0=132 total; 4 died; 4 discharged; 2 adult baptisms;1 Infant baptisms
Year ending April, 1876...Mem. 124; recd by profession 19,
letter 7=150 total; 4 died; 2 discharged; 8 adult baptisms;2 Infant baptisms
Since added... recd by profession 13, letter 1=164 present total.
The loss of our academy has never ceased to be the
subject of deep regret, and the constant prayer of the
church has been that it might again be revived. There is
now an encouraging prospect that this hope may be realized.
A handsome site has been purchased in one of he most
eligible parts of the village by the liberal lady who has
already done so much for the church, to whom which a large lot
has been added as a gift by Mr. OLCOTT and Mr. G. W. B.
DAKIN jointly. The same lady has in contemplation the
erection of a suitable academical hall for the purposes of
the school, of which plans have been prepared by the pastor.
There is a house on the property capable of being remodeled
for the use of the principal. It is hoped that all details
in the scheme of this enterprise (which are still under
advisement) will soon be arranged, and that the ancient
institution will then enter afresh upon its career of beneficent
influence.
On the 4th of July, 1876, the Centennial of American
Independence was made the occasion of unusual demonstrations
and gratitude throughout the country. The Otsego
County celebration was held at Cherry Valley, and was
an occasion of great interest. The presidency of the day
was fittingly awarded to our venerable fellow-citizen, Hon.
William W. CAMPBELL, who has been identified usefully
with every local movement for many years. No other man
has given such attention as he has to the traditions of this
part of the country. It will not be inappropriate to close
this account of the church with a brief notice of one who,
by his careful labors, may be said to have saved an interesting
chapter of American history from oblivion. I draw
the following chiefly from a sketch given by his friend, A.
Stewart MORSE, M.D., to the N.Y. Era, March 14, 1863.
His ancestors, four generations back, formed part of the
first body of settlers, the farm selected being that now occupied
by himself. His grandfather was the colonel who is
mentioned in Chapter II., and his father one of those who
were taken prisoners in the massacre of which he was the
last survivor. His mother was Sarah, daughter of the
redoubtable Colonel ELDERKIN, of Windham, Conn. Mrs.
CAMPBELL was a remarkable woman, the mother, as she used
to say, of forty-two feet of boys; there being seven of them,
and each at least six feet tall. All became liberally educated,
and most of them entered one or the other of the
professions. The eldest was the widely-known Alfred E.
CAMPBELL, D.D., of New York. Samuel retired from the
bar with an ample fortune, and resides on a beautiful estate
at Castleton. John is chief engineer of the Croton water
department of New York city. Augustus is a physician at
Galena, and George resides at Cherry Valley. William,
prepared like all his brothers at the old academy, was
graduated in 1827 at Union college, of which he has been
for many years a trustee, as well as one of the three visitors
of the Nott Trust Fund. He pursued his legal studies in
the office of the eminent Chancellor KENT, whose firm
friendship was of great service to the young lawyer. In
1830 a society of literature and historical research was
formed at Cherry Valley, out of which grew his labors on
the "Annals of Tryon County," and a number of other
works of a historical and biographical character, whose
value led to his being made a member of the New York
Historical Society.
In 1843 he was elected to congress from the city district
in which he resided, and in 1848 one of the justices of the
superior court. After visiting Europe he retired to Cherry
Valley, but was called forth to active life immediately in
1857, when he was chosen a judge of the supreme court
of New York. Judge CAMPBELL's interest in his native
village and its old church has ever been peculiarly earnest,
and he takes a just pride in his own and his family's long
and honorable connection with them. He labored zealously
to secure the construction of its railway, and for that service,
as well as for his long and persistent efforts on behalf of the
cause of education among us, with the others who have
shared his labors, we owe him lasting obligations. The
lovely grove of maples on his farm, which has long served
in place of a park or common to the village on festal days, a
favorite resort for the stroller or the picnic-party, was
the scene of a grand ox-roast and jubilation on the occasion
of the completion of the railroad, the locomotive as it passed
the margin of the grove waking the echoes with its shrill
whistle, and the hills giving back the unwonted sound with
a clearness that seemed like the welcome to a fresh era in
their long existence, and a new page in the history of the
place. The same grove was also chosen as the place for the
celebration of that joyful centennial occasion which has
drawn forth such unusual expressions of mutual congratulation
all over the country and to the perpetuation of whose
memory this little account of an old church and its
numerous brood of children is a small contribution.
The METHODIST Church. The Methodist Episcopal church
of Cherry Valley was organized in 1828, by the Rev. Ephraim
HALL. The first meetings were held in the Lancaster school-
house. The officers were Leonard FERRIS, Judson WELLS,
and James NICHOLS.
The first members with the above named were John C.
HALL and wife, Wm. PRENTICE, Shepherd PRENTICE, Delevan
BAKER and wife, Laura RUDD, James GALT and wife,
Mordeca CLARK and wife, George TAYLOR and wife.
The present church edifice was erected in 1835, and was
remodeled in 1868. The original cost was $2500, and
$1500 was expended in repairs and decorating. The
dimensions are 58 by 45, with side and end galleries; seating
capacity, 400. It was dedicated by Rev. Zachariah
PADDOCK. The present officers are George CLARK, local
preacher; Platt B. SHEARER, class-leader and exhorter;
Joseph W. CLARK, class-leader and steward; George ECHERSON,
class-leader and steward; Levi HARDENDORF, class-leader
and trustee; Thomas WICHOFF, class-leader and steward;
John S. GALT, class-leader; Lyman W. THOMPSON, steward
and trustee; George SHERMAN, Sunday-school superintendent,
and steward and trustee; Robert WALES, steward and
trustee; William FOLARD, steward and trustee; Chauncey
GALER, steward; John NUGENT, steward; Isaac La HOMADUE,
trustee; Munson G. WADSWORTH, preacher; Thomas B.
SHEPHERD, presiding elder. The number of members is 160.
The following ministers have served this church: Revs.
Ephraim HALL, James KELSEY, Isaac GRANT, Calvin HAWLEY,
Lyman SPERRY, Joseph BAKER, Leonard BOWDISH, Lewis
ANDERSON, Lyman A. EDDY, H. EREANBACK, Rosman
INGALLS, C. HARVEY, W. SOUTHWORTH, George PARSONS,
Barlow W. GORHAM, John M. SEARLES, John P. NEWMAN,
Moses L. KERN, L. D. PENDELL, Hiram S. RICHARDSON,
John T. CRIPPEN, Joseph SHANK, John W. MITCHELL, R. W.
PEEBLES, George W. FOSTER, J. B. SHERAR, Gordon MOORE,
Wesley F. TOOK, Munson G. WADSWORTH.
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GRACE Church. This church was organized on the 13th day of
April, 1846, with the following persons as officers: Joseph W.
BRACKETT and Henry ROSEBOOM, wardens; Benjamin DAVIS,
George W. WHITE Charles McLEAN, B. B PROVOST, David
L. WHITE, Joseph CALDER, Amos L. SWAN, and William
OWEN, vestrymen.
The following were the first members of the church:
Names of First Members. - Henry ROSEBOOM, Mrs.
Henry ROSEBOOM, Mrs. M. E. BEARDSLEY, Mrs. Martha
GILBERT, Mrs. Benjamin DAVIS, Mrs. A. LYDLEMAN, Mrs.
J. LIVINGSTON, Mrs. A. B. COX, Mrs. Delos WHITE, Mrs.
Joseph CALDER, Joseph WEBB, Mrs. Wm. W. FRANCIS,
Mrs. Mary McKELLIP, Daniel BURTON, Mrs. M. SHIPWAY,
Miss. D. HUDSON, J. W. BRACKETT, Joseph PHELON, Mrs.
Joseph PHELON, Miss A. PHELON, Miss Fanny GILBERT,
Brayton A. CAMPBELL, Mrs. Brayton A. CAMPBELL, Mrs.
Joseph WEBB, Mrs. Lucy SHANNON, Mrs. George CLARK.
Present number of members, 125.
The following notice of the laying of the corner-stone
of the church edifice appeared in the Cherry Valley Gazette,
under date April 15, 1846:
"The corner-stone of the new Grace church in this
village was laid on Easter Monday, the 13th inst., in presence
of a large concourse of people. The congregation assembled
in the Episcopal Methodist church, where the morning
services were read by the Rev. Mr. RANSOM, after which
the new church was organized. After the election of the
wardens and vestry, the procession left the church, preceded
by the Rev. Mr. RANSOM and Rev. Mr. BEACH, of
Cooperstown. As the procession moved to the site of the new
church the 122d Psalm was repeated, and when all were
gathered around, the Rev. Mr. BEACH read the address (as
laid down in the form prescribed for such occasions),
together with the collect. The inscription on the corner-
stone being read aloud, it was laid in its place, and the Rev.
Mr. RANSOM, striking it three times with a hammer,
pronounced the dedication of the building to be erected by the
name of Grace church, 'to be devoted to the services of
Almighty God, agreeable to the principles of the Protestant
Episcopal church in the United States of America, in its
doctrines, ministry, liturgy, rites, and usages.' Upon the
corner-stone was the simple inscription , 'Grace church,
1846.' beneath it was a leaden box, within which was
deposited a Bible, a prayer-book, the names of the pastor,
wardens, vestrymen, an the Cherry Valley Gazette. Mr.
RANSOM delivered a truly eloquent and impressive address
upon the occasion, congratulating the congregation upon the
certain prospects of the completion of the new church."
The following have served this church as rectors from its
organization to the present time: Joseph BRANSON, 1846;
J. L. TOWNSEND, 1850; John DOWDNEY, 1852; George
H. NICHOLS, 1854; Navel. L. MINES, 1866; David L.
SCHWARTZ, 1867; H. H. OBERLY, 1872; J. Hobert De
MILLE, 1874; Reeve HOBBIE (present rector), 1876.
The present officers are as follows: Warden. - Henry
ROSEBOOM and Joseph PHELON.
Vestrymen. - J. L. SAWYER, Charles McLEAN, Abm. B.
COX, Geo. NEAL, P. R. WALES, A L. SWAN, Almon BROWN,
Geo. L. MERRITT.
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The LUTHERAN church at Center Valley was organized
in March, 1841 by Rev. D. OTTMEN, who was the first
minister. The present officers are as follows: Adam
ENGLE, Samuel STINGER, Jacob HARTORM. The
church has been served by the following pastors: N.
BARST, one year; J. A. ROSENBERG, one year; W. H.
SHELLARD, one year; J. KLING, one year; J. H.
WEBER, one year; C. DIEPENDARF, one year; S.
BRUCE, present pastor.
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