Life and letters of Henry Van Rensselaer, priest of the Society of Jesus

Front matter

COPYRIGHT DEPOSnV

J

Life and Letters

Introduction To Second Edition

THE present edition of this book does not differ materially from the first. Attention, however, may be called to the development of that portion which treats of Father Van Rensselaer's public life. When the "Life and Letters" was first published it was felt that a fuller presentation of Father Van Rensselaer's career in the priesthood was desirable, — a desideratum which kindly criticism has also pointed out. This deficiency, it is hoped, has now been made up. It is obvious that to gather details covering so wide a field and so many activities requires time, to say nothing of opportunity. The interval since his death has supplied the time, and opportunity has been sought industriously. Moreover, four years have given the necessary perspective, enabling one to sift what was well authenticated and characteristic from what had undergone a process of development and consequent exaggeration in going the rounds of charitable gossip. The crescit eitndo of the poet plays strange freaks with truth as well as with falsehood. Nothing has been accepted which has not been obtained at first hand. The chapter on the Novitiate has been supplemented by a precious letter from one of his fellow novices. This and a letter addressed from the Scholasticate to a relative who had joined a religious Sisterhood, are the only adchtions to the story of this period. The chapter on the Tertianship has been re-written ; so, too, his excursions into the field of literature as a member of The Messenger staff. As to the rest, a chapter has been inserted' giving the letters to his mother separately, with a word or two about the

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Introduction To The Second Edition

character of one who was not only so' dear to him, but with whom he preserved unbroken intercourse during the latter years of her life. Several new chapters are devoted to the recital of incidents which enable us to see the faithful priest in the general work of the ministry, while his dealings with the policemen and firemen, which consumed a large portion of his time, are practically now told for the first time. The story of the Xavier Club has likewise been expanded and an omission supplied respecting his work in the hospitals. These additions and details set in clearer outline the features of his priestly career which were only roughly sketched before.

Perhaps it may not be deemed out of place here to acknowledge the grateful appreciation with which this memoir of Father Van Rensselaer has been received. Many have found in it a help in their efforts towards a higher spiritual life, many too, an inspiration to follow unreservedly whither grace leads.

The writer expresses the hope that those who have seen the faithful portrayal of Father Van Rensselaer in his own letters will derive new pleasure from the picture of the priest in action as exhibited in the narratives of those who had the rare privilege of knowing him in the ministry.

VI

INTRODUCTORY

A WORD of explanation as tO' the soiuxes from which . this Hfe of Father Van Rensselaer has been drawn may not be amiss.

The story of the early history of the patroons is found in the Magazine of American History, in an exhaustive paper on "The Van Rensselaer Manor," contributed by the editor, Martha J. Lamb. Further details have been gleaned from a carefully written article which appeared some years ago in the columns of the New York Sun,

The story of Father Van Rensselaer's conversion is told in an autobiographical sketch found among his papers after his death. This sketch is particularly valuable as revealing the inner workings of his soul, his habits of thought and temperament, the motives actuating his conduct, the long and arduous search for the truth, and the happiness with which his soul was filled when he found himself at last, as he says, "over the wall, and safe in the bosom of the One True Church."

It must not be forgotten, however, that the sketch was written a cjuarter of a century after most of the events recorded therein. It is unquestionably a faithful account of what happened at that time so far as memory served him. Due allowance, therefore, should be made for the disturbed condition of a mind at a period when it was going through most harrowing experiences; "for," to quote Cardinal Newman, "who can know himself, and the subtle influences which act upon him? and who can recollect, at the distance of twenty-five years , all that he once knew about his

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INTRODUCTORY

thoughts and his deeds, and that, during a portion of his life, when even at the time his observation, v^rhether of himself or of the external world, was less than before or after, by very reason of the perplexity and dismay which weighed upon him, — when, though it would be most unthankful to imply that he had not all-sufficient light amid his darkness, yet a darkness it emphatically was?"*

The autobiographical sketch was originally written in the first person and was reproduced verbatim in the pages of The Messenger. As incorfjorated in this life, the form has been somewhat changed. Facts have been separated from opinions, the narration of events detached from the discussion of religion, in the belief that the logical processes which led to Father Van Rensselaer's conversion would stand out in bolder relief, and the sketch be more in keeping, with the requirements of a biography. So the first person has been retained, as a rule, only when he describes his mental attitude. The letters from Oxford were an unexpected find. Father Van Rensselaer up to the day of his death never suspected their existence. The friend to whom they were written thought they had been destroyed and discovered them only after a repeated and prolonged search. They will be found in almost every particular remarkably corroborative of the later narrative, and give very interesting information on the daily life of a student and the character of the Dons at the University of Oxford. The portraits given of Dr. Liddon and Dr. King will be appreciated by those who are at all interested in the more recent history of Oxford. After the withdrawal of Newman from the classic halls of the Universitv and from the historic pulviii

INTRODUCTORY

pit of St. Mary's, Oxford might well be termed a City of Confusion, and these letters, though covering only the short period of a single year, give a very fair insight into the topsy-turvy condition of affairs prevailing there a generation later. In editing them, much had to be omitted, as it was of a character too personal for publication. Attention may well be called to the marvellous contrast prevailing between the letters from Oxford and those written after Father Van Rensselaer was received into the Church and enrolled among the members of the Society of Jesus. The same man speaks in both, but in the earlier ones he is harassed by doubt and misgivings, in the later his mind and heart are both at rest and in the possession of perfect peace. The biographer has only a word to add. His work in piecing together the narrative has been a work of love. During twenty-eight years he knew Father Van Rensselaer intimately, and was associated with him as a student of philosophy and theology, as a professor in college, as a priest in the ministry. The reminiscences covering that period are for the most part personal, and on that account, it is hoped, will the better fill out the portrait of his friend, which is outlined in the autobiographical sketch and in the letters which appear in the volume. The writer makes grateful acknowledgment to the sister of Father Van Rensselaer, in religion Sister Dolores, for invaluable assistance by furnishing letters and biographical data; to Father Francis Mackall of Midland, Maryland, for the Oxford letters, and to Father Wynne and Father Campbell of The Messenger staff.

Edward P. Spillane^ S.J.

IX

Contents

Introduction to the Second Edition . . . . vii

Introductory ix

CHAPTER PACxE

CHAPTER I. Ancestry and Family

THE name of Van Rensselaer has always been a familiar one in the history of the Empire State. The family representatives bore the ancient Dutch title of Patroon, and in the days of English ascendancy in America that of Lord of the Manor. Their titles fell into disuse during the Revolution, but their vast holdings in land remained until the middle of the nineteenth century, and their family and social distinction down to the present day.

The founder of the family in America w.as Kilian Van Rensselaer. He was born in 1595, and was a descendant of a long line of worthy citizens of Amsterdam. The manor from which the family took its name is still called Rensselaer, and is situated about three miles southeast of Nykerk in Holland. It was originally an estate the possession of which conferred nobility.

Kilian Van Rensselaer took an active part in the formation of the Dutch West India Company, furnishing the corporation with ships of his own and more than once advancing money to save its credit. He also sent an agent to trade with the Indians for land on the west side of the Hudson River from twelve miles south of Albany to Smacks Island, ''stretching two days into the interior," and eventually effected the purchase of all the land on the east side of the river, both north and south of Fort Orange, and "far into the wilderness." This great feudal demesne, which comprised the present counties of Albany, Columbia and Rensselaer, received the name of Rensselaerswyck. The estate was forty-eight miles long and twenty-four miles wide, while the Hudson divided it into two equal parts. It could not have been situated more advantageously, as the waters of the Hudson connected with the Atlantic and, through the Mohawk, with the great waterways of the North and West.

Van Ransselaer established his manor house at the confluence of the two rivers, a position which, at a time when the knowledge of the geography of America scarcely extended beyond its coastline, might have been justly looked upon as the key to the whole continent. Upon the territory once forming this great estate have since sprung up thriving towns and villages, and cities like Albany, Troy, Rensselaer and Schenectady.

Kilian Van Rensselaer sent over sturdy settlers with their families, servants and household goods. His colony grew and prospered, the soil was tilled, comfortable houses were built, schools and churches founded, and order and method established everywhere. He died in 1644. Strange to say, there is no record of his ever having visited America.

It would make interesting reading to follow the fortunes of the successive patroons who ruled over Rensselaerswyck. Few of them there were who did not leave an impression on the political, social or military history of their time.

Jan Baptist Van Rensselaer, the third patroon, w^as a half brother of his predecessor, Johannes. The latter had once or twice visited his great possessions in New York, but he, too, for the most part resided in Holland. In 1658 Jan Baptist also returned to Holland, where he ended his days.

Conspicuous in the family was a clergyman, the Rev. Nicholaus Van Rensselaer, the eighth child of the first patroon and brother of the second. He had been licensed by

ANCESTRY AND FAMILY

Charles I to preach in the Dutch Church at Westminster, and, recommended by James, Duke of York, he came lo New York to fill one of the Dutch pulpits in the Province. The dominie died in Albany, and his widow married Robert Livingston, the founder of the Livingston family in America.

Jeremias, the next director of Rensselaerswyck, and brother to Jan Baptist, was deservedly popular for his prudent management of affairs during sixteen years. He acquired great influence among the Indians and won the respect of the French in Canada. His correspondence, which is still extant, evinces no little native talent as well as enormous industry. His autograph is remarkable for its beauty and is one of the most characteristic to be found in the records of the century. He was president of the Landtag, or Diet, which five months before the surrender of the province to the English had been summoned to New York to discuss the affairs of the colony. When the English came into possession of New York, he declined to cede to the new government the town of Albany, which he claimed as a part of Rensselaerswyck. After portracted negotiation. Governor Dongan in person visited the patroon, and obtained from him a formal concession of his feudal right over the miniature capital of the future State, along with sixteen miles of territory extending into the country westward. In the following year, 1686, Albany was incorporated as a city.

Jeremias' wife was a daughter of Oloff Stevenson Van Courtlandt, the first of the family of that name in New York; their daughter. ]^Iaria Van Rensselaer, married Peter Schuyler, the first Mayor of Albany.

Stephen Van Rensselaer TTT. the last of the patroons, and perhaps the most distinguished in that long Hne of distinguished men, was destined to bridge the chasm, which existed between two opposite poHtical systems. Born in 1764, the subject of a King and the scion of a feudal aristocracy, with immense inherited estates and chartered baronial rights, he favored from the first the new political system in America, and was one of the staunchest upholders of popular sovereignty. His father having died, he was educated by his grandfather, Philip Livingston, who was one of . the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In due course he was graduated from Harvard with high honors. Before he was of age, he married Margaret, the daughter of General Philip Schuyler, thus transmitting to his posterity the blood of five of the great Colonial families, Schuyler, Livingston, Van Courtlandt, Ten Broek, and Van Rensselaer. After his graduation, he kept up his studies and personally managed his large estates. In the period succeeding the Revolutionary War, no man in the State carried with him greater personal influence. He was a friend of Washington, and was successively a member of the Assembly and of the State Senate, as well as twice Lieutenant Governor of the State, when John Jay was Governor. In the war of 1812, when Governor Tompkins summoned the State Militia into immediate service. Van Rensselaer was appointed to take chief command ; nor did he hesitate to leave his luxurious home and march to the frontier with the utmost dispatch. Among his officers were many of his kinsmen, notably Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, who was wounded at the battle of Queenstown Heights.

After the war Stephen Van Rensselaer entered heart and soul into every project which he considered advantageous to the State. He declared his willingness to construct, at

ANCESTRY AND FAMILY

• his own expense, the whole of the Erie Canal, so confident was he of the feasibility of the enterprise. He was a member of Congress from 1822 to 1829, and cast the decidingvote in the election of John Quincy Adams to the Presidency of the Republic. During all these years he was Regent of the University of the State, and subsequently became its Chancellor.

His wife dying, he married again, his second wife being Cornelia Paterson, daughter of Judge William Paterson, of the Supreme Court, who had also been Governor of New Jersey and one of its first two Senators.

In 1824 he established, and in 1826 incorporated, the first scientific school in the New World, and he defrayed fully one-half its current expenses. His own words, which he put in the charter, show how far he was ahead of the times : "A school to c[ualify teachers to instruct in the application of experimental chemistry, philosophy and natural history, to agriculture, domestic economy and to the arts and manufactures." This school, now known as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, will always be a memorial to^ the philanthropy, far-sightedness, and statesmanship of its founder. In 1825, Yale conferred upon him the degree of LL.D.

Stephen Van Rensselaer III left twelve children, three by his first and nine by his second wife. Of these, Stephen Van Rensselaer IV, usually referred to as the Young Patroon, was the eldest. To him had descended the bulk of the great Van Rensselaer estate or plantation, and by him, through political causes, it was dissipated forever. Although his father was legally the last of the patroons, yet the people of his time, by common consent, gave him that title, and as such he will go down to history.

The father of the future Rev. Henry Van Rensselaer was General Henry Van Rensselaer, brother of Stephen IV, and fifth son of Stephen HI. He, too, holds a distinguished place in the civil and military history of his time. A graduate of West Point in 1827, he served later as lieutenant in the United States Army. In 1841 he was sent to Congress, and during the Civil War he held the rank of Colonel while Chief of Staff to General Scott, upon whose retirement, in November, 1861, he was made Inspector General of the United States Army. He died of typhoid fever just before the close of the war. The following sketch appeared in a New York paper shortly after his death : —

"Colonel Henry Van Rensselaer, Inspector General of the United States Army, died on Wednesday, March 23d, of typhoid fever, at Cincinnati, where he was stationed.

"Colonel Van Rensselaer was graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in 1831, having passed through the four years' discipline of that school without incurring a single demerit. This fact indicates the character of the man — an ever-present sense of duty, which would not permit the neglect of an obligation once assumed. Thoiigh young when entering the Academy, he formed and held resolutely tO' the purpose of complying in all respects, as far as possible, with its requirements. The writer dwells the more upon this rare trait of character, for that he had a son at the Military Academy at the time, whose good fortune it was to become the room-mate of Colonel Van Rensselaer, and who there acquired from his example that love of order, that diligence of application, that fidelity to the. most minute as well as the more important details of duty, which go so far to make up the character of a useful and trustworthy

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Ancestry and family

man, whether soldier or citizen. Mr. Van Rensselaer did not remain long in the Army, and having married in 1833 a daughter of Hon. J. A. King, of Jamaica, L. I., he went to take possession of a patrimonial landed estate in St. Lawrence County, where he spent many years in the active pursuits of agriculture, and dispensing a liberal and elegant hospitality.

''In 1841 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives from his district, and served with his accustomed punctuality and diligence through the three sessions of the 27th Congress. Political life, however, had few attractions for himi, and he returned willingly to his home and his accustomed occupations.

''For some years past, however, and as his family grew up, Mr. Van Rensselaer had been an inhabitant of this city, where the outbreak of the Rebellion found him in quiet and retired private life. But when the Rebel cannon against Fort Sumter aroused our Northern blood and national fidelity, true to his early training as a soldier, and tO' his instincts as a patriot, he at once wrote to General Scott, then in command of our forces, to ask for an opportunity, as a soldier educated by the Nation, to strike a blow for the national cause. The General immediately sent for him to Washington, took him into his military family, and with the rank of Brigadier-General, made him chief of his staff.

"Of this position he faithfully and intelligently discharged the duties until the relinquishment by General Scott, under the pressure of physical infirmities, of his hig'h command. Upon the recommendation of his general, however, the commission of inspector-general in the Regular Army, with the rank of colonel, was at once conferred by the President upon Colonel Van Rensselaer. In the duties of that post he has ever since been assiduously engaged, and to them he, in fact, yielded up liis life — refusing, though laboring under illness, to ask for a furlough — while the official calls upon him were urgent.

''The insidious disease made rapid progress. Informed of his serious illness — yet not apprehending imminent danger, his wife and daughter hurried to Cincinnati, but only had the consolation of ministering by his dying bed.

"He was aware of his approaching death, and prepared for it as a Christian soldier. In his last delirious moments his mind still ran upon his public duties — upon the condition of the troops — upon the progress of the war — and he died in the cause of his country, an earnest and unblemished soldier."

A summary of his life and services, in Father Van Rensselaer's handwriting, is preserved among the family papers. It reads like a page taken from the records of the Military Academy at West Point.

U. S. Military Academy.

NUMBER CLASS RANK

648. Born N. Y. Henry Van Rensselaer. Ap'd N. Y. 20 Military History. — Cadet at the U. S. Military Academy, from July 1, 1827, to July 1, 1831, wlien he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., 5th Infantry, July 1, 1831. On leave of absence July 1, 1831, to Jan. 27,' 1832. Resigned Jan. 27, 1832.

Civil History. — Farmer, near Ogdensburg, N. Y., 1834-55. Aide-de-Camp with the rank of Colonel to Governor Seward, of New York, 1839-40.

COL. HENRY VAN RENSSELAER

ANCESTRY AND FAMILY

Member of the U. S. House of Representatives, from the State of New York, 1841-43.

President of the American Mineral Company — of the Port Henry Iron Ore Company — and of the ConsoHdated FrankHnite Company, 1855-60.

Military History. — Served during the Rebelhon of the Seceding States, 18G1-G4: as Volunteer Aide-de-Camp, with the rank of Colonel, April 29 to Aug. 5, 1861, and as Regular Aide-de-Camp, Aug. 5, 1861, to Nov. 1, 1861.

(Col. Staff — Aide-de-Camp to the General-in-Chief, Aug. 5, 1861.)

Bvt. Lieut., General Scott; General-in-Chief, at the Headquarters of the Army, Washington, D. C. ; on leave of absence and awaiting orders, Nov. 12.

(Colonel Staff — Inspector General, Nov. 12, 1861.)

1861, to Mar. 20, 1862— as Inspector General, 1st Army Corps.

Mar. 20 to Apl. 4, 1862 — Department of the Rappahannock.

Apl. 4, to Aug. 12, 1862— 3d Army Corps, Aug. 12 to Sept. 6, 1862, and Department of the Ohio, Sept. 17, 1862, to Mar. 23, 1864.

Died Mar. 23, 1864, at Cincinnati, O. Aged 64.

Among the family treasures is an autograph letter addressed by General Scott on his retirement from the Army to his Chief of Staff. It reads as follows :

''Adieu, my dear Colonel Van Rensselaer. No general has ever had greater cause to be proud of his staff than I have had in you and my other dear friends. Colonels Townsend, Hamilton, Cullen and Wright — all dear friends.

''Nov. 9, 1861. WiNFiELD Scott."

If he was beholden to his father for his name, and for the prestige which, even in America, despite the open profession of democracy, attaches to descent from one of the great Colonial families, Father Van Rensselaer was under still greater indebtedness to his mother, Elizabeth King Van Rensselaer, for the kindly traits which were so characteristic of him from his earliest years, and which became more manifest in his apostolic work as a priest when he was brought into contact with the poverty-stricken and the unfortunate.

The founder of the King family in America, John King, came from Kent, England, and settled in Boston in 1700. Later the family moved to Scarborough, Maine, where Father Van Rensselaer's great grandfather, Rufus King, was born in 1755. Graduating from Harvard in 1777, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1784. He was elected to the Continental Congress and took a prominent part in the convention which in 1787 framed the Constitution of the United States . While in New York he married Mary Alsop, the only daughter of a prominent New York merchant, and for his wife's sake determined to live near her father.

He became a Senator of the United States in 1789, the first Senator elected from the State of New York, was reelected in 1795, and in the following year was by President Washington appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain.

Besides the distinction oi being three times elected to the Senate of the United States, and being twice appointed as Minister to England, he was at various times the candidate of his party for the Governorship of New York, as well as for the Vice-Presidency and Presidency of the Nation ; and although he failed of election to these high offices he

ANCESTRY AXD FAMILY

was always regarded as one of the ablest statesmen and diplomats of liis time. Even his political opponents had such respect for his moral worth and integrity that they made him their candidate for the Senatorial dignity, when his own party could not have effected his election.

John Alsop King, eldest son of Rufus, and grandfather of Henry Van Rensselaer, was a native of New York City, where he was born in 1788. During his youth he accompanied his father to England when the latter was Minister to the Court of St. James, and while there attended school at Harrow. Among his schoolmates were his brother Charles, afterwards president of Columbia College, New York, Lord Byron, Sir Robert Peel and other men of prominence.

He held the rank of Lieutenant during the war of 1812, and in 1825 was Secretary of Legation at London under his father. He was several times elected to the State Legislature, was a member of Congress in 1849-51, and Governor of the State in 1857-59. At the expiration of his term, he returned to his home, in the village of Jamaica, Long Island, where he died July 8, 1867, in his 80th year. John Alsop King filled these many official positions with credit to himself and honor to his country, and during his long career never failed to present to his fellow citizens, alike in his public and private life, a rare example of benevolence and manly virtue.

CHAPTER 11.

Boyhood and Early Life.

HENRY VAN RENSSELAER, the future Jesuit, youngest but one of ten children, was born at Woodford, near Ogdensburg, October 21, 1851. His mother, Ehzabeth Ray King, was the daughter of the Governor King mentioned in the last chapter. His father, General Van Rensselaer, was the fifth son of the last patroon, Stephen HI, who by his will divided the vast estate among his children, bequeathing to the eldest, Stephen IV, the manor on the Albany side of the Hudson, and to the fifth the wild lands in St. Lawrence County on the river of that name.

In this remote domain were valuable farm lands in the townships of Lisbon, Canton, etc., and the county seat, Woodford, which was on high ground overlooking the river. There was a large old-fashioiied garden, with greenhouses, graperies and an extensive farm . The old colonial house had been enlarged shortly before Henry's birth, and a billiard room and a ballroom- were added for the entertainment of summer guests and of the townspeople, who were always welcome visitors to the Van Rensselaer homestead. It was an ideal home, and above all a Christian home, where each day was opened with family prayers, and Sunday was honored with the strictest observance. Mrs. Van Rensselaer was the Lady Bountiful of tlie neighborhood, ever ready to listen to and relieve the wants of the poor. Indeed, during her entire life, even when it was no longer in her

BOYHOOD AND EARLY LIFE

power, to give g-enerously, she never permitted a poor person to be sent unaided from her door. This tender love for God's poor, inherited from her, was a most striking trait in the character of her Jesuit son.

Mrs. Van Rensselaer's responsibility in rearing her large family was lightened by the devoted assistance of a nurse who entered her service in 1843 and remained a valued member of the household until her death in 1899. Monica Chapman was an Englishwoman of great native refinement. A devout Catholic, she never, by any attempt to influence the faith of her children, betrayed the perfect trust reposed in her by her Protestant mistress. She held each in her arms when they were presented for baptism in the Protestant Episcopal church, and was faithful in seeing that they recited morning and evening the little prayers taught them by their mother. In after years, when he had found the true faith and was enrolled as a member of the Society of Jesus, Father Van Rensselaer, in conversation with intimate friends, would frequently speak of Monica, her piety, her devout recital of the Rosary and the religious influence she exercised, albeit unwittingly, in the family. He had no hesitation in ascribing to her prayers and to her example the special grace which led him eventually to seek refuge in the true fold.

When the family moved to New York City, Monica became a member of St. Francis Xavier's parish, where, fortyfour years later, her Requiem Mass was sung by the one of her charges who had been most dear to her, and for whose conversion many IMasses and prayers had been offered in that church. Before giving the absolution. Father Van Rensselaer paid a touching tribute to the virtue and fidelity of his beloAxd nurse.

When he was four years old, the family came to New York City to pass the winter months. Shortly after their departure from Woodford their country home was destroyed by fire, and was never rebuilt. His childhood was uneventful, except that in addition to the usual diseases of children, he had an attack of scarlet fever which threatened his life and left him of a rather nervous temperament and delicate constitution.