The centennial memorial : a record of the proceedings on the occasion of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the A.R. Presbyterian Church, of Little Britain, N.Y. : also, of the completion of one-third of a century of the pastoral relation to this church of Rev. Robert H. Wallace ... : together with a sketch of the Clinton family, biographical notes, etc.

Front matter

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Preface

That eccentric individual, Sir Thomas Browne, whose kindness of heart seemed to run parallel with his great eccentricity of character, says : “ I cannot contentedly frame a prayer for myself, in

particular, without a catalogue for my friends : nor request a happiness wherein my social disposition doth not desire the fellowship of my neighbor. I never heard the toll of a passing bell (though in my mirth) without my prayers and best wishes for the departing spirit. I cannot go to cure the body of my patient, but I forget my profession and call unto God for his soul. I cannot see one say his prayers, but instead of imitating him, I fall into a supplication for him, who, perhaps, is no more to me than a common nature ; and if

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God hath vouchsafed an ear to my supplications, there are surely many happy who never saw me and enjoy the blessing of my unknown devotion.”

Such a frame of mind is truly to be coveted — it leads us to follow out the Apostolic injunction : “ Look not every man on his own

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things, but every man on the things of others — “ to rejoice with

those that do rejoice, and weep with those that weep.” It stirs up the better feelings of our common humanity, engages our sympathies and makes us to rejoice in that brotherhood, which, through many ancestral generations, the greater part of which are lost in oblivion, is traced up to Him of whom the inspired record declares : “ And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.”

This creature, man, is, doubtless, to some extent — perhaps, to a great degree, a selfish being — having much less regard for others than for himself ; yet, there are but few, indeed, who live without some participation of feeling in that which deeply interests others. Examples of this are spread out in historic lore ; and our own individual experience confirms the record.

The biblical student, however mentally phlegmatic, finds his tenderest sympathies enlisted in the story of the patriarch Abraham, as he journeys in obedience to the divine command, with Isaac, to the summit of the mount, there to offer him in sacrifice ; or, if he turns to the eventful life of Joseph, cast into a pit in the wilderness by his nrethren whom he visited upon an errand of mercy — taken from the pit, sold into captivity, thrown into prison and forgotten there ; or, if he peruses the history of Job, when visited with loss of property, and children, and health, to which is superadded the insane advice of

PREFACE.

y the wife of his bosom and the condemnation and reproach of his visitors, will he not find all his moral instincts agitated in behalf of these instances of suffering humanity ? And these are but two or three of the many instances brought before the mind of the biblical student, and which draw out the feeling of the most selfish.

So, also, in regard to the classical student who runs his eye over the page which records the sufferings of some ancient hero of historic renown : his feelings are imperceptibly awakened and enlisted, while yet he is unaware of the trial that has been made upon the emotions of his soul.

What North Briton, even at this day, does not feel his deepest sensibilities enkindled at the name of Wallace, or the recollection of the Bruce and Auld lang syne ? Or, to come nearer to the period in which we live — how utterly feeble and impotent is the attempt to control the feelings of those (selfish in everything e’se,) whose ancestry were rocked in the cradle of the Covenant and baptized in a baptism of blood ; when his recollections are turned towards the battle-field at Bothwell Bridge ; or, more recently, when the Christian world was permitted to witness the exodus of the Scottish Church, under the leadership of Chalmers and his coadjutors ?

This same feeling is innate every where, though in a greater or less degree, varying according to the shades of individual character, or the circumstances which initiate the action of the mind.

Now, among the many things which are calculated to arouse a

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deep interest, when we can withdraw ourselves from the supreme considerations of “ What shall we eat and what shall we drink and wherewithal shall we be clothed,” are, the affairs of the church in our own land — its planting, its watering, its culture, its growth — axe matters in which we can but feel deeply interested ; and as the church at large is but the aggregation of individual congregations, our feelings are as naturally drawn towards the fractional parts as towards the whole. Turning our thoughts to any particular spot where, for successive generations, the vestal tire of religious truth has burned (albeit, at times the lire was deeply buried, yet needing only the breath of the Lord to kindle it,) we love to fix our thoughts on that spot, to talk of it, to trace the influences that have radiated from it as a central point, and then permit the imagination to carry us far down and along the vista of the future, when the tire shall burn and “ shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.”

Such a spot is that to which our little volume is consecrated. We

do not expect that persons into whose hands it may fall and whose

“ local habitation” is elsewhere, will feel as great an interest in these

pages as though they had first breathed the fragrance of these hills,

chased the butterfly over the green meadowrs, or strolled along its

streamlets, imbibing juvenile inspiration from the music of its ripple

or the song of birds. Or, as if in mature age, they had reverently, from sabbath to sabbath, entered the sanctuary and worshipped the God of their fathers there. Yet even a stranger, whose eyes trace these lines, may imbibe some portion of that spirit which should

PREFACE.

YU animate all “ that in every place call on the name of J esus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.’'

Should the inquiry be started, “ What object is to be attained by the publication of this unpretending volume ?” — It would suffice to reply by stating what is not the object. It is not a desire to add to the literature of the country. We have no such promptings. So far .back as the days of Israel’s wise monarch, he seemed to have arrived at the delicate conclusion that “ of making many books there is no end.” The rage of book-making has been on the increase from that period until the present time ; and, now, it may be said, that in a numerical point of view, the leaves of books almost equal the leaves of trees. The essayist — the critic — the poet — the novelist — the biographer — the historian — -the theologian — the man of art and science, and the nondescript writer who cannot be enrolled under any particular classification — all are in “labors more abundant.” ,

It is not a desire to receive a pecuniary return from any labor bestowed on this compilation. No such motive has found a place in our thoughts.

It is not to build up any interests, local, sectional, denominational or personal, that it is prepared for the press.

It is not that we are ambitious of placing our name before the public in connection with this volume — -on the contrary, we desire vm

PREFACE.

no notoriety, and were it not that it seems to be necessary to give

a name in reference to its authorship in order that several matters of

a historical nature introduced into its pages, might rest upon

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something more than the assertion of an anonymous writer, our name would have remained a secret.

What then is the object ? The answer is brief. A congregation, which in a country comparatively new, can trace its continued existence for a century without change of ecclesiastical organization — without departure from the principles embodied in its creed — which amid all the vicissitudes and revolutions, political, social and ecclesiastical which have occurred around it, has continued to go forward steadily — which, at times, like Horeb’s burning bush, has burned but is not consumed — such a congregation desires to have its annals rescued from forgetfulness. A pastor, too, who in this era of uneasiness in the churches, when the restive spirit which pervades all associations, religious or otherwise, continually demands new things and cries for more, can move forward in the path of duty, for a third of a century, planting himself upon the truth of God as the sum and substance of his ministrations, who still lives in the grateful affections of his dock, may with great propriety be held up to those who are young in the ministry as an example of what may result from a “ patient continuance in well-doing'. ”

It may not be improper to state, however, that there is one motive which has had its influence in bringing out this volume. It has been already stated that no sectional or denominational

PREFACE.

IX interests led to it; but on the contrary, a desire to exhibit the centennial celebration proceedings as developing a truly catholic spirit on [the part of the congregation and its pastors. The spirit of the one universal church is the spirit of its glorious King and Head ; and His spirit was, and is pre-eminently, a spirit of love and union — not a union with one sect or band of the church, to the exclusion of all others; but a union with all who hold “like precious faith,” although differing, it may be, in regard to the form of church government, or matters of practice in things nonessential and which are of man’s device — in reference to which there is not to be found : “ Thus saith the Lord .”

The great object of our publication, then, is to promote the divine glory, by recording the faithfulness of the Head of the Church to this branch of Zion.

It will be seen that it is a work of compilation mainly, the principal object being to embody the proceedings connected with the installation of the junior pastor of the Little Britain Church, and of the Centennial Celebration. These proceedings include the installation services, charge to the pastor, addresses, etc.

As the history of the church is virtually a history of the neighborhood, and as the Clinton family, (honorable in the annals of our country, and not less so from inherent worth,) is closely dentified with the church and its locality, we have obtained, through the kindness of one of the surviving members of that

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PREFACE, family, an historical account of the Clintons and their settlement in the immediate vicinity of the church. We have taken the liberty of inserting this account, and it forms a very interesting portion of the volume.

Nor could we give its pages to the press without furnishing something of a memoir of the senior pastor. This, of course, is very imperfect. Much of deep and pervading interest might be said, with great propriety, in reference to the “ labors of love,” of this servant of the Lord, among the people of his charge and elsewhere ; but as his usefulness and faithfulness are frequently alluded to in the proceedings, the record of which forms a por^ tion of this volume ; and knowing our friend to be particularly unassuming, we abstain from much that the claims of both justice and friendship would induce us to say.

if if ff if if

The arrangement, compilation and, indeed, the whole work, was assumed by request, and is intended as a testimony to the goodness and mercy of God unto those who put their trust in Him .

The weather, on the day of installation, was inclement and inauspicious, but the attendance at the church was very large, composed of persons of various denominations. A large number of ministers of the Gospel were present, several of whom participated in the proceedings, as the reader will perceive.

Introduction

A meeting- of the members of the church and congregation was held at the church, on December 29, 1856, to make arrangements for the permanent supply of their pulpit, in view of the continued ill health of their pastor.

Pierson G-enung, Esq., was called to the chair. The following preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted.

Whereas , In consequence of the continued feeble state of our pastor’s health, and his consequent inability to labor in word and doctrine among us;

and,

Whereas , There exists a very general desire

that he should spend the remainder of his days

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in oar midst, where for nearly one-third of a century, he has diligently labored — bearing the burden and heat of the day — in breaking to us the bread of life ; and

Whereas . To accomplish this, it becomes

necessary to make some permanent arrangement for the supply of our pulpit. Therefore,

Resolved , I. That we will invite the Rev. R. Howard Wallace to remain with us permanently, as colleague with, and successor to, his father, Rev. Robert H. Wallace, as pastor of this church and congregation.

Resolved , II. That this invitation be pre-

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sented to him for his acceptance, together with the concurrent preamble.

Resolved , III. That in case of his informal acceptance, the constitutional steps be taken to procure a formal installation.

INTRODUCTION.

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At a meeting of the Presbytery of New- York, held 20th October, 1857, resolutions were adopted approving the course proposed to be pursued by the Little Britain Congregation in celebrating their Centennial, and, also, the long period of their pastor’s services ; and appointing T. M. Niven, Esq., Dr. McCarrel, and Hon. A. C. Niven, a committee to represent them on that occasion, and take the part assigned them in the exercises.

A meeting of the congregation was held at the Church, December 3, 1857, for the purpose of making arrangements to celebrate the Centennial of their history. After a presentation of facts, hi regard to the history of the Church, its pastoral relations, etc., by the Rev. R. Howard Wallace, it was resolved to appoint a committee to arrange for the suitable celebration of this interesting epoch. The celebration

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was appointed to take place on Wednesday, 30th December.

The following gentlemen constitute the committee :

On motion of J. W. Morrison, Esq., it was,

Resolved , That this Congregation embrace the opportunity, presented by the interesting anniversary, now approaching, to present their pastor, Rev. Robert H. Wallace, with a suitable testimonial of their esteem and affectionate regard ; and that

JAMES PATTEN, JOHN M. SHUART, constitute a committee fo procure such testimonial.

HON. ISAAC WOOD

JAMES W. MORRISON, PIERSON GENUNG,

BURR HURD, CHARLES E. KNAPP.

R. WALLACE GENUNG,

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Several meetings of the Centennial Committee were subsequently held, and the necessary measures adopted for carrying into effect the proposed object.

Various Sub-Committees were appointed on correspondence, music, etc., who readily responded to the call made on them, and by diligent

effort made as perfect as possible the arrangements for the celebration.

The Committee desire to acknowledge their obligations to Benjamin Wright, Esq., of Cornwall, the leader of the choir, and to those who assisted him on this occasion.

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A. R. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,

OF LITTLE BRITAIN.

SESSION:

REV. ROBERT H. WALLACE,

“ R. HOWARD WALLACE, WILLIAM H. DENNISTON, PIERSON GENUNG,

INCREASE S. GOLDSMITH,

JARVIS KNAPP.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

HON. ISAAC WOOD,

GEORGE DENNISTON, BURR HURD,

JAMES PATTON,

JOHN B. KERNOCHAN, ALEXANDER D. ROGERS, JOHN M. SHUART,

JOHN S. WEAR,

GEORGE ARNOT.