SURVIVING PASTOR OF THE CHURCH IN WALL STREET.

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Reprint and digital file December 15, 2004.

Interwoven throughout Dr. Miller's Memoir of John Rodgers, is the sense of what the American Revolution cost those who led it, and in the case of New Yorkers, the British destruction of that city and their desecrations captured in vivid language that only an eyewitness may express. The phrase " With a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence " was literally experienced by these men, as Washington's letter to Rodgers states.

We have selected passages that reflect both the theme of Providence seen during the War, and the work of the Presbyterian Ministers from the Reconstruction period that firmly establish their critical involvement in the Revolution, and afterwards, in public education and church government.

Rarely today, may we find such a clear vignette of this case, and from the leading educators of their day !

John Rodgers, D.D., ( 1727, d. 1811 ) was a Presbyterian Minister and served in that capacity in Delaware, and New York City. Schooled at Fog's Manor under Samuel Blair, he finished his theological studies under Rev. Gilbert Tennant ( 2^nd Presbyterian Church, Phila. ). Among his close friends, was Samuel Davies, later President of Princeton College, N.J. Rodgers served as a Chaplain in the Revolutionary War, and was an advisor to George Washington, evidenced by personal papers to this effect found among Rodgers' estate. Source: Memoirs of the Rev. John Rodgers, by Samuel Miller, D.D., 1813

Samuel Miller, (b.1769-d.1850) the second professor at the newly established Princeton Theological Seminary, and Trustee of Princeton College, proved to be well suited as a crucial intellectual link between the Colonial, and Revolutionary periods in American history. He was an associate pastor of Dr. Rodgers, therefore making him well suited to create this memoir of his esteemed laborer in the Gospel. If one tours Princeton, plan to see his former house, now the Nassau Club, which is beautifully maintained in a central location of the borough. His wooden walking stick, carved out of one of the remaining logs which comprised the structural members of the Log College, (forerunner of Princeton College, 1726) in Neshamany, Pa. was on display in the Speer Library as of June, 2001.---Willison Ed.

Page numbers in the original are shown in brackets as: [ 2 ]

The following begins the original text:

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TO THE MINISTERS

OF THE

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,

IN THE UNITED STATES.

THE character and ministry of the venerable Man with whose memoirs you are here presented, were dear to you all. Most of you knew him personally; and all of you revered him as one of the Fathers of the American Church. Knowing this, I had no doubt that you would be gratified with seeing some account of his long, laborious, and useful life: and knowing also, that no one could so naturally be expected to give this account as his surviving colleague, who served with him as a son in the Gospel, for more than seventeen years, I did not hesitate to make the attempt.

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In the progress of the undertaking, I have greatly exceeded the limits originally prescribed to myself. What was at first intended to be a pamphlet of moderate size, has insensibly grown into a volume. Whether any apology ought to be made for such an extension of the work, can be ascertained only by the perusal.

Such as it is, allow me to inscribe it, most respectfully, to You. As I wrote under the habitual impression, that it would be my own fault if I did not profit by the contemplation of the character exhibited in the following pages ; so I will also frankly confess, that I was not a little encouraged and animated by the hope, that the work, with all its imperfections, might not be entirely useless, among others, to my Fathers and Brethren in the Ministry. One thing is certain, that if the portrait here drawn be even tolerably just, it cannot he viewed wholly without benefit by those who have a taste for studying and copying excellence.

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I shall not be surprised if it should be imagined by some, that I have discovered, in the ensuing sketch, more of the partiality of friendship, than of the sternness of historical justice. I can only say, that it has been my sacred aim to exhibit every feature that was attempted to be portrayed, true to the original. If I have in any case failed, the error was certainly unintentional. But it is a consolation to know, that, even after making the most Liberal allowance on this score that can be required, there will still remain a large and solid mass of personal and professional worth, which we can scarcely too often, or too respectfully, contemplate. We may say concerning the character in question, what I have somewhere met with, as said concerning another— "Take away nine parts out of ten, even of its virtues, and there will be still enough left to admire, to imitate, and to love."

For the introduction of so many minute details respecting the Church in New- York, I hope to be

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forgiven. Though they cannot fail of being comparatively uninteresting to many readers; yet by another, and perhaps equally large class, they will be considered as among the most valuable parts of the volume. There are not a few, indeed, who feel so great an interest in the affairs of that church, that they would be glad to possess a history still more minute of its rise and progress. I have been studious of the gratification of such persons, as far as my plan permitted. Nor can I forbear to add, that the sentiments of attachment and gratitude which I have long cherished, for flint portion of the flock of Christ, with which my deceased Colleague laboured for near half a century, and which 1 have had the happiness of serving for more than nineteen years, led me to take peculiar pleasure in noticing and recording every thing important concerning it, which came to my knowledge.

That we may all have grace given us to imitate our departed Fellow-labourer, so far as he

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served our common Master; and that the following account of his Life may be made, in some degree, to promote that great Cause, in the advancement of which he lived and died, and to which we, as Ministers, have solemnly professed to devote ourselves, is the fervent prayer of,

Reverend Fathers and Brethren,

SAMUEL MILLER.

New-York, Feb. 25, 1813.

A failed attempt to murder Dr. Rodgers.

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It is often said of the servants of God, that they are immortal till their work is done. And it is, at once, both pleasant and profitable to remark how often his protecting power is manifested in averting danger, and in prolonging their lives. The favour of a gracious Providence was, on various occasions, as conspicuously displayed in preserving Mr. Rodgers’ life, as in blessing his labours. Of this fact, one instance, among many, shall suffice. Within the bounds of his congregation, and near the place of his residence, there lived an unhappy man, of the name of Marsh, who, borne down by domestic affliction, and besotted by habitual intemperance, [drunkeness] had become weary of life. Unwilling to be guilty of suicide, which he supposed would be an unpardonable sin, as it might afford no time for repentance, he resolved to commit murder on some other person, that his own life might be taken by the hand of public justice. And, fearing that, if he murdered an obscure person, whose loss would affect the public mind in a comparatively small degree, he might be pardoned, and thus fail of attaining his object, he determined to select for this horrid purpose no other than his minister, whom he knew to be universally beloved, and whose importance in public sentiment, he was aware

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would produce an overwhelming weight of abhorrence and indignation against his murderer. Accordingly the miserable wretch made every preparation for executing his nefarious purpose. He watched the motions of Mr. Rodgers, with a loaded musket, day after day, for a considerable time, and eagerly sought for a favourable opportunity to destroy his life. He waylaid him when he rode abroad. He hovered about his door, at intervals, by day and night. But something always occurred to carry the object of his pursuit in a different direction from that which was expected, and thus to avert the intended mischief. The wife of Marsh first revealed to Mr. Rodgers the murderous purposes of her husband; and in consequence of this disclosure, the infatuated man was summoned before a neighbouring justice, and bound over to his good behaviour for a limited time. Mr. Rodgers himself appeared before the magistrate, and, by his zealous intercession, prevented his imprisonment. This generosity, however, on the part of his intended victim, produced no favourable effect on the mind of the unhappy man. He still sought, with most ingenious contrivance, some opportunity to execute his design; but was still providentially prevented. At length, wearied with unsuccessful

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attempts, and becoming altogether desperate, the abandoned mortal, on a certain night, when watching within a few feet of Mr. Rodgers’ door, turned against himself the fatal weapon which he had prepared for his minister, and perished by his own hand!

On the 20th day of January, 1763, Mr. Rodgers was deprived, by death, of his wife, with whom he had lived, in the greatest happiness, for more than ten years. Of this bereavement he often spoke, to the end of life, with much tenderness, as the sorest and most distressing that he ever experienced; and there is reason to believe that he kept the anniversary of her decease as a day of special prayer, as long as he lived. After living a widower more than a year and a half, he formed a second matrimonial connexion, on the 15th day of August, 1764, with Mrs. Mary Grant, the widow of Mr. William Grant, an eminent merchant of Philadelphia, and equally eminent for the fervour of his piety. Mr. Rodgers’ connexion with this lady proved no less happy than that with the companion of his youth. She was truly a blessing to him to the end of life, and survived him about ten months. Her great firmness of mind; her

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remarkable prudence; her polished and dignified manners; her singular sweetness and evenness of temper, joined with fervent piety, endeared her to all that had the happiness of her acquaintance, and rendered her an excellent model for the wife of a clergyman *.

Mr. Rodgers, at an early period of his public life, had received a deep impression, that the wife of a minister of the gospel ought to be such a person as would prove a counsellor and aid in his official character, as well as in his private capacity. He believed, that, as an ambassador of Christ ought to have in view the

* This lady, whose family name was Antrobos, was a native of Manchester, in England. Her father was one of the colonists who came over to Georgia, with General Oglethorpe, in the year 1733, when she was about eight years of age. It is remarkable that both her husbands, as well as herself, were particular friends, and spiritual children, of Mr. Whitefie1d. By Mr. Grant, she had several children, one of whom was the second wife of Col. John Bayard, late of New-Brunswick, in New-Jersey. By Mr. Rodgers she had one child, a daughter, who died a number of years before her parents. Mrs. Rodgers, after adorning her christian profession, through the greater part of a century, was translated to a better world, on the 6th day of March, 1812, in the 88th year of her age.

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usefulness of his ministry, and the honour of his Master, in every thing else, so also in his marriage. He was, therefore, uniform and pointed in his advice to young ministers, not onlyto seek pious wives, but also to seek such as by their good sense, prudence, and aimableness of natural temper, might win the hearts of their parishoners, form an additional medium of intercourse and attachment between them, and prove examples to the flock. He often remarked, that no man could calculate the importance of such a companion to the usefulness, as well as to the comfort, of his ministry, until he had made the experiment. His own conduct was, most happily, in perfect accordance with his advice; and the blessings, of which he often spoke, as resulting from a wise choice, were, in his own case, no less happily realized.

His appointment to the board of Trustees, the College of New Jersey, Princeton.

In the month of April, 1765., Mr. Rodgers was elected one of the Trustees of the College of New Jersey. It. was not wonderful that his public spirit, his zeal for the promotion of useful knowledge, and his devoted attachment to the interests of evangelical truth, should have pointed him out thus early as one of the governors of an institution, consecrated by its venerable founders as a

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nursery for the Church. He entered on the duties of this appointment with cordiality ; performed them with fidelity and diligence; and remained one of the most active and punctual of the whole Board, until within two or three years of his death ; when, with the same disinterested and noble spirit which had long governed him, he resigned the office ; assigning as his only reason, that he could no longer as usual, discharge its duties ; and soliciting the appointent of a more youthful and active member in his place.

But while the zeal and public spirit of Mr. Rodgers were directed to objects of various kinds, abroad as well as at home ; and while, in every sphere in which he moved, his piety and diligence were conspicuous ; he shone with peculiar lustre as a minister of Christ, and in discharging all the diversified, arduous, and interesting duties of a Christian Bishop. His family visitations ; his incessant attention to the catechising and other instruction of the youth all his unwearied vigilance in watching over the interests of the flock of which he had been made overseer, have been already mentioned.

Rodgers receives his Degree of Doctor of Divinity, 1768

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In 1768, Mr. Rodgers had the degree of Doctor of Divinity conferred on him, by the University of Edinburgh. Academic honours of this kind have become so common at the present day, that their value, even in public opinion, is much reduced. But this was by no means the case at the date of the event in question. At that time, considerable advancement in age, and more than usual elevation and weight of

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character, were deemed indispensable requisites for meriting this degree. The circumstances also attending this tribute of respect from a foreign University, were honourable to its object. It was as unexpected, as it had been altogether unsolicited by him. Mr. Whitefield being then in London, and wishing a public honour of this nature to be conferred on his American friend, communicated his wish to Dr. Franklin, who was also in London, at the same time. Dr. Frank/in, at the request of Mr. Whitefield, immediately wrote to Dr. Robertson, principal of the University of Edinburgh, giving Mr. Rodgers such a character as he thought proper, and requesting for him, from that university, the degree of doctor in Divinity. Dr. Robertson immediately took measures for complying with this request. The degree was conferred. And in a few weeks Doctor Franklin received the official testimonial of the fact, which he sent to Mr. Whitefield, and which was by him transmitted to Mr. Rodgers. The diploma bore date, December 20, 1768, and reached the hands of Mr. Rodgers, in the following April, in the forty second year of his age.

The gradual depreciation of the value of

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honorary degrees in later times, and especially in our own country, may be ascribed to a variety of causes :—to the multiplication of colleges in the United States, beyond the necessities of the country, and beyond its power of efficient support; each of which colleges, deems itself bound to continue the habit of annually bestowing its honours :—to the great increase, of the number of those, in proportion to the mass of society, who pass through a collegiate course, and receive the first collegiate laurels, by which their ambition is excited to seek after those of a higher grade: and, perhaps, in some measure, to the prevailing plan of government adopted in colleges, on this side of the Atlantic. But to whatever causes it may be ascribed, the fact itself is unquestionable; and is chargeable, it is believed, in a greater degree, on the colleges of America, than on any others in the world. What a contrast between that state of public sentiment, and public habit, which permitted president Dickinson, president Burr, president Edwards, president Davies, the apostolic Tennents, Mr. Whitefield, and a long catalogue of similar men, to descend to their graves without a Doctorate; and that which now lavishes the title, juvenility, on ignorance, and on weakness, with a frequency

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altogether unworthy of the dispensers of literary honour! And although the venerable subject of these memoirs, received his education, his habits, and his clerical title, in the better days of literary administration, if the expression may be allowed; yet it must be owned that his great benevolence and urbanity, too often prompted him, when called to act as one of the guardians of literature, to concur in that system of facility and yielding on this subject, which has so much reduced the value of Academic honours*.

*The practice of conferring the honours of literary institutions on individuals of distinguished erudition, commenced in the twelfth century ; when the Emperor Lothaire, having found in Italy a copy of the Roman law, ordained that it should be publicly expounded in the schools: and that he might give encouragement to the study, he further ordered, that the public professors of this law should be dignified with the title of Doctors. The first person created a Doctor, after this ordinance of the Emperor, was Bulgarus Hugolinus, who was greatly distinguished for his learning, and literary labour. Not long afterwards the practice of creating doctors was borrowed from the lawyers by divines, who, in their schools, publicly taught divinity, and conferred degrees on those who had made great proficiency in this science. The plan of conferring degrees in divinity was first adopted in the universities of Bologna, Oxford, and Paris. See Mathers’s Manalia Christi Americana, 1. i,v. p. 134. It is remarkable that the celebrated Dr. Samuel Johnson, when he had become eminent in literature, could not obtain the degree of Master of Arts, front Trinity college, Dublin, though powerful interest made in his behalf, for this purpose, by Mr. Pope, Lord Gower, and, others. Instances of the failure of applications of a similar kind, made in favour of characters still more distinguished than Johnson then was, are also on record. So cautious and reserved were literary institutions, a little more than half a century ago in bestowing their honours !

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In the summer of 1768, the Reverend Doctor Witherspoon reached America, and took charge of the college at Princeton, to the presidency of which he had been called a short time before. Doctor Rodgers was among the first to do honour to the talents, learning, and piety of this eminent stranger; and was always ranked among his most respectful and affectionate friends. In 1769, he accompanied Dr. Witherspoon on a visit to Boston, and other parts of New-England, where they spent some weeks; and where they were received and treated with the most gratifying distinction and respect. This journey was exceedingly interesting to both. It introduces them to a new, and highly valued circle of friends

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At the meeting of the Synod, in 1774, Dr. Rodgers was appointed to spend a number of weeks, in the summer and autumn of that year, on a missionary tour, through the northern, and north western parts of the province of New-York, he accordingly devoted several months to that service, itinerating and preaching the gospel with unwearied zeal and assiduity ; for the most part in places utterly destitute of the means of grace; generally with great acceptance; and in a number of instances, with the most gratifying success. His labours, in the course of that mission, were the immediate or remote means of forming many churches, which have since proved large, flourishing, and happy.

An attempt at arresting Dr. Rodgers in Vermont.

The period in which the Doctor fulfilled this mission, was the period rendered memorable by the warm dispute between the settlers in the territory which is now Vermont, and the government of New—York, which claimed that territory as lying within its jurisdiction. Measures of great decision, and even violence, had been taken by other parties, a short time before he went into that

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country; so that he found the public mind, particularly in Vermont, highly irritated and inflamed. Nothing was further from his view than any political design; but some of the jealous and exasperated Vermonters, knowing that he came from the capital of New- York, and connecting every thing with the existing dispute, suspected him of being engaged in some mission or plan unfriendly to their claims. In a particular town, which he had entered, by appointment, for the sole purpose of preaching, he observed, a little before the public service began, several rough and fierce looking men approach the house in which he was about to preach, and enter into very earnest, and apparently angry, conversation with those who were near the door. He was utterly ignorant, at the time, of their design, or of the subject of their conversation but was afterwards informed, that they were very warmly contending with his friends, that he was a spy, and, of course, a very dangerous character, and that he ought to be immediately arrested. It was in vain that the friends of the Doctor remonstrated, on the ground of the sacredness of his office, and the solemnity of the duty in which he was about to engage, and to attend on which the people were then collecting. His

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angry accusers replied, that the more sacred his office, the greater his power of doing mischief; and that to let him escape would be treason to their cause. At length, finding that all they could say availed nothing to his exculpation, and that the most positive assurances of his being known to be a man of pious and exemplary character, only rendered these hostile and ardent spirits more determined in their original purpose, the friends of the Doctor only begged them to delay the seizure of his person until after divine service should be closed, as it would be a pity to disappoint so large a congregation as had then assembled for public worship. To this proposal, after much persuasion, they reluctantly consented, and divine service in a few moments began. The exercises were more than usually solemn and impressive in their character; many of the congregation were in tears; and even those who had come into the assembly armed with so much resentment, were observed to be first serious, and then softened, with those around them. When the solemnities of worship were ended, they said nothing more about their plan of arresting the preacher; but quietly retired, and suffered him to pursue his journey. Before he left the house, however, in which he

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had preached, the owner of it, who had stood his firm friend in the contest, put him on his guard, by relating all that had passed.

Two or three days after this, while the Doctor was preaching in a more northern town, in the same district of country, soon after the public service began, he saw two men enter the assembly, marked with countenances of peculiar ferocity and rage. He afterwards learned, that they had come from a southern town, under the same impressions, and with the same views, as their predecessors in violence. On entering the assembly, they seated themselves, resolving to wait until the service should be ended, and then to arrest the preacher. The exercises of the day, as in the former case, were the means of disarming them. When the benediction was pronounced, they withdrew; saying to each other, that they were probably mistaken in the man, and had better go home.

Those who are acquainted within the piety, the fervour, and the affection, which Dr. Rodgers habitually manifested in his public addresses, will feel no surprise at their producing such effects as these.

Dr. Rodgers' participation in the American Revolution.

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Doctor Rdogers was an early, and a decided friend to American independence. When the contest between Great-Britain and her colonies was drawing to a crisis, and it became evident that an appeal to the sword was unavoidable, he did not hesitate to take side with the latter; and was the uniform, zealous, and active advocate of his country’s rights. A few of the principal members of his Church took a different course *;

*Among those members of the Presbyterian Church in New-York, who took the side of Great-Britain, in this contest, were Andrew Eliot, Esquire, the collector of the port; William Smith, Esquire, mentioned in a preceding page; James Jauncey, Esquire, a gentleman of great wealth and respectability, and some others, to whom Dr. Rodgers was greatly attached, and from whom he separated with pain. But, compared with the body of the congregation; the number of those who took this ground was extremely small.

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but a great majority of them decided and acted in concurrence with their pastor. For a considerable time before this crisis arrived, Doctor Rodgers, and several other clergymen of the. city, among whom were Doctor Mason, and Doctor Laidlie, had been in the habit of holding weekly meetings, for cultivating friendship with each other, and for mutual instruction. Toward the close of 1775, the gentlemen concerned, agreed to suspend their usual exercises at these meetings, and to employ the time, when they came together, in special prayer for a blessing upon the country, in the struggle on which it was entering. This meeting, thus conducted, was kept up, until the ministers composing it, and the great mass of the people under their pastoral care, retired from the city, previous to the arrival of the British forces.

It being taken for granted, immediately after the commencement of hostilities with Great-

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Britain, that gaining possession of New-York would be one of the first and most favourite objects of that government; and the movements of the enemy soon beginning to confirm this expectation, a large part of the inhabitants of the city, not wishing either to join the British, or to be at their mercy, thought proper to retire from the scene, and go into a voluntary exile. The greater portion of those who took this course, left the city toward the close of the winter and in the spring of 1776. On the 29th of February, Dr. Rodgers removed his family to a place of retirement, in the neighbourhood of the city where they remained during the monthss of March and April ; and from which he found it convenient to visit the city, as often as his professional duties required.

On the 14th day of April, in that year, General Washington reached New-York, and took possession of it for its defence. Soon after his arrival, Dr. Rodgers, in company with other friends of the American cause, prevailed on the General to pay him his respects. The General received him with pointed attention ; and when he was about to retire, followed hum to the door, and observed, that his name had been mentioned

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to him in Philadelphia, which he had just left, as a gentleman whose fidelity to the interest and liberties of the country might be relied on, and who might be capable of giving him important information: and added, "May I take the liberty, Sir, to apply to you, with this view, whenever " circumstances may render it desirable?" The Doctor, after assuring him of the readiness and pleasure with which he should render him, in the cause in which he was engaged, any service in his power, took his leave. It is not improper to add, that the General actually did consult the Doctor, on several occasions afterwards, concerning certain parts of the public service, and, particularly in one case, received from him important information. A number of letters passed between them, some of which were found among the Doctor’s papers after his decease.

In the month of May, 1770, the Doctor removed his family from the neighbourhood of NewYork to Greenfield, in Connecticut, as a place of more comfortable retirement and greater safety. About the same time, or a few weeks afterwards, the great body of his congregation left the city, and either joined time army, to render what aid they were able to the common

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cause, or took refuge in such parts of the adjacent country as were most secure from time incursions of the enemy. The Reverend Mr. Treat, his colleague, left time city about the same time.

It ought not to be omitted, that Doctor Rodgers, among the many points in which his conduct is worthy of remembrance and imitation, displayed, about this time, that tender filial affection, which might have been expected from his general character. A few years before the commencement of the revolutionary war, his father’s house, in the city of Philadelphia, was consumed by fire, and his father perished in the flames. He immediately took his mother under his own roof, and, as long as she lived, displayed towards her all the unremitting attentions of the most dutiful son. He removed her, at the commencement of the war, into Connecticut, where she died, in the course of the next year, at a good old age, and after a life of exemplary piety.

A short time after time removal of Dr. Rodgers to New- York, and more particularly after the public testimony of respect which he received from the University of Edinburgh, he was led, by a variety of circumstances, to commence a

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correspondence with several gentlemen of distinction, in Great—Britain, which he maintained, until the commencement of hostilities interrupted the intercourse with that country; and which, with respect to most of them, he resumed and continued, after the restoration of peace. Among these gentlemen, were the Rev. Dr. Gillies, of Glasgow, the Rev. Dr. Gibbons, of London, the Rev. Dr. Price, of Hackney, and the Rev. Dr. Ryland, of Northampton. But among all his friends beyond the Atlantic, he prized the correspondence of none more than that of the Rev. Dr. Erskine, of Edinburgh, whose talents, learning, and fervent piety, rendered him eminent throughout Protestant Christendom. His epistolary intercourse with this venerable clergyman was constant and peculiarly affectionate, and continued till the death of Dr. Erskine, which took place seven or eight years before that of Dr. Rodgers .

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In the month of April, 1777, Dr. Rodgers returned from Georgia, and joined his family at Greenfield. On his way home, he was informed of his election to the office of chaplain to the Convention of the state of New- York, then sitting in Esopus, and engaged, among other things, in forming a Constitution for the state. On receiving this information, he immediately repaired to the Convention, and entered on the duties of his office. He continued to serve that body in the capacity of Chaplain, as long as it continued to sit. On the dissolution of the Convention, and on the power of the state being temporarily lodged in a Council of Safety, which also, for some weeks, held its meetings at Esopus, the Doctor was chosen to the chaplaincy in that body. And shortly afterwards, when the first Legislature of the state, under the new constitution, convened, he was a third time elected, to serve the legislature in the same office. In fulfilling the duties of these successive appointments, he and his family, which he had now removed from Greenfield, were led to reside at Esopus the

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whole of the summer, and a part of the autumn of 1777.

A Providential rescue from certain capture by the British.

Two or three days before the burning of .Esopus, by the British troops, which took place in October of this year, Dr. Rodgers, learning that the enemy’s fleet was ascending the river, and fearing those acts of wanton and cruel devastation, which were afterwards so unhappily realized, thought proper to remove his family to the eastern side of the river, to a settlement smaller, and less likely to be the object of hostile operations, than a town which was then the seat of government of the state. Here, in a house near the place of landing, he deposited the trunks containing his books, his plate, and all the most valuable articles of portable property, which the enemy and his frequent removals had left him. In this place he, as well as all whom he had consulted on the subject, considered them as perfectly safe, and supposed all further precaution to be unnecessary. In a few hours, however, after they were thus deposited, an aged and illiterate German, with whom he was but little acquainted, and whom he chiefly knew as a great friend to the clergy and to the American cause, came to him late at night, and with much

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apparent anxiety, asked him where he had left his baggage. The Doctor informed him. He replied, with earnestness, " It must be removed this night." It was in vain that the distance of the place of deposit, which was several miles; the late hour of the night; the impossibility of obtaining the means of transportation until the next day; and the supposed safety of the baggage in its then situation, were urged. The honest German, to all these suggestions, had nothing else to reply than, " I tell you your things must be removed this night ;" and when he found that no other plan would answer, actually took a wagon and went himself, and brought them to the place where the Doctor and his family lodged. It is remarkable that before the light of the next morning dawned, the house in which this baggage had been deposited, was burnt to ashes by the British troops!

Esopus being burnt, the Doctor was compelled to seek some other place of residence. And considering the towns on the margin of the Hudson as too much exposed to the attacks of the enemy, he determined to select a more retired situation. With this view, he made choice of the town of Sharon, in the state of Connectucut, which he

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removed his family, toward the end of October, 1777, where he spent the following winter. During his residence here, he preached repeatedly for the Reverend Mr. Smith, the minister of the town; but more frequently to a congregation in the town of Amenia, in Dutchess county, NewYork, lying adjacent to Sharon, in which he, shortly afterwards, made a temporary settlement.

A man curses himself, after hearing Dr. Rodgers' sermon in Danbury.

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Although the [ Ministerial ] labours of Doctor Rodgers in Danbury were not attended with any remarkable revival of religion, they were by no means without visible success. The Congregation was gradually restored to union and order; the children were collected and instructed ; the taste for sound and faithful preaching evidently increased; the attendance on public ordinances grew more

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and more general; and the whole aspect of the Congregation, when he left it, was decidedly more favourable than when he commenced his labours as its pastor.

But the labours of this venerable servant of Christ, though generally and highly acceptable to the congregation, were not universally so. Some of the enemies of the truth, thought him, in many of his addresses from the pulpit, too plain and pointed to be borne. One person in particular, who held a sort of pre-eminence in this class, after hearing one of the Doctor’s most solemn and pungent sermons, declared, that " if he ever went to hear him preach again, he hoped his arm might rot from his shoulder." In a few weeks afterwards, this person was seized with a swelling in his right hand, which gradually extending up his arm, a mortification ensued, and he died miserably ; his arm, before his death, literally rotting from his body. This event made a deep impression on multitudes; though the unhappy victim himself, to the last hour of his life, discovered no symptoms of relenting or penitence.

Doctor Rodgers, while in Danbury, as had

Correspondence with Gen. Washington, for Bibles distribution to the War Veterans.

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In a short time after the definitive treaty of peace was signed, the disbanding of the American armies commenced. About this time Dr. Rodgers, whose mind was ever busily employed in forming plans of piety amid benevolence, suggested to some leading persons the propriety of presenting to each soldier, on retiring from service, a Bible. The war had, of course, entirely suspended the importation of Bibles from Great Britain; and they had become, prior to the year 1781, extremely scarce in this country. Under these circumstances, it was found, as might naturally have been expected, that the needy soldiery were almost wholly destitute of copies of the Scriptures. In the year last mentioned, enterprising printer and bookseller of Philadelphia *

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printed a large edition of the Bible. This event, however, though it removed the difficulty arising from the scarcity of copies of the sacred volume, by no means supplied the army. Dr. Rodgers determined to interest himself, and to take measures for prevailing with others to interest themselves, in furnishing the defenders of their country with so valuable a present. Among those whom he endeavoured to engage in this pious design, was the Commander in Chief, [ Gen. Washington ]to whom he addressed a letter, congratulating him on the restoration of peace, and proposing the exertion of his influence for the attainment of this desirable end. The following answer to the Doctor’s letter, while it serves to assign one of the reasons why his pious plan did not succeed, will also furnish another testimony to the uniform dignity and greatness of the wonderful Man by whom it was written.

* Mr. Robert Aitkin. His duodecimo Bible, printed in 1781, was the first Bible, in the English language, ever printed in North America. Five years before, (1776.) Mr. Christopher Sower had printed, at Germantown, near Philadelphia, a quarto edition of the Bible, in German ; and more than a hundred years before, (1664,) the Rev. John Eliot had printed, at Cambridge, in Massachusetts, an edition of the Bible in the language of the Natick Indians.

"Head Quarters, 11th June, 1788.

" Dear Sir,

Glorious indeed has been our contest: glorious, if we consider the prize for which we have contended, and glorious in its issue. But in the midst of our joys, I hope we shall not for get, that to Divine Providence is to be ascribed the glory and the Praise.

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With much regard and esteem,

I am, dear Doctor,

"Go. WASHINGTON."

While Doctor Rodgers was thus a sojourner, and variously, but always usefully, employed, during his exile from New-York, it may he proper to inquire, what was going on, in the mean time, in that city, in relation to his affairs, and

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the interests of the church with which he was connected.

The British armies, in the course of the revolutionary contest, whenever they had an opportunity, manifested a peculiar hostility to the Presbyterian Church. This hostility, prompted partly by sectarian rancour, and partly by the Consideration, that the Presbyterians were generally favourable to the American cause, was displayed by many acts of violence and indignity of the most wanton kind *. The Presbyterian churches in New-York, were the objects of

* The following is extracted from a note in a Sermon, delivered and published by Dr. Rodgers, entitled, A Sermon ,reached in New-York, Dec. 11, 1783, appointed by Congress, as a day of public Thanksgiving throughout the United States, p. 26. " It is much to be lamented, that the troops of a nation that has been considered as one of the bulwarks of the reformation, should act as if they had waged war with the God whom Christians adore. They have, in the course of this war, utterly destroyed more than fifty places of public worship, in these states. Most of these they burnt, others they levelled with the ground, and in some places left not a vestige of their former situation ; while they have wantonly defaced, or rather destroyed others, by converting them into barracks, jails, hospitals, riding schools, &c. Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, and Charleston, all furnished melancholy instances of this prostitution, and abuse of the houses of God: and of the nineteen places of public worship in this city, when the war began, there were but nine Fit for use, when the British troops left it. It is true, Trinity church, and the old Lutheran, were destroyed by the fire, that laid waste so great a part of the city, a few nights after the enemy took possession of it ; and therefore they are not charged with designedly burning them, though they were the occasion of it ; for there can be no doubt, after all that malice has said to the contrary, but the fire was occasioned by the carelessness of their people, and they prevented its more speedy extinguishment. But the ruinous situation in which they left two of the Low Dutch Reformed churches, the three Presbyterian churches, the French Protestant church, the Anabaptist church, and the friends new meeting house, was the effect of design, and strongly marks their enmity to those societies. "

Concerning the Middle Dutch Church, in Nassau—Street, which in the beginning of the war, was used by the British garrison as a Prison, and afterwards turned into a Riding School, the venerable Dr. Livingston thus expresses himself in a sermon, delivered July 4, 1790, when it was for the first time opened for public worship, after being repaired : " I dare not speak of the wanton cruelty of those who destroyed this temple, nor repeat the various indignities which have been perpetrated. It would be easy to mention facts which would chill your blood! A recollection of the groans of dying prisoners, which pierced this ceiling ; or the sacrilegious sports and rough feats of horsemanship exhibited within these walls, might raise sentiments in your minds that would, perhaps, not harmonize with those religious affections, which I wish at present, to promote, and always to cherish.’’

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special vengeance. The church in Wall-street was immediately seized, and converted into Barracks; and that in Beekman-street into an hospital. It is hardly necessary to add, that in preparing them for these purposes respectively, they were not only defaced, but almost entirely stripped of their appropriate interior; and that they were left in a most ruinous condition. Nor was this all. The Parsonage-house, belonging to the congregation, was, during the same period, destroyed. It fell a prey to the dreadful fire, which consumed so large a portion of the city, in a few

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weeks after the British troops took possession of it, in the autumn of 1776.

Post war reconstruction. Dr. Rodgers' conduct.

In the spring of the year 1783, when it be-a came known that the preliminary articles of peace with Great-Britain had been signed, an intercourse began to take place between the city of New-York, and the adjacent country. On the commencement of this intercourse, many of the old inhabitants of the city returned from their

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exile; and among these were some of the members of the Presbyterian churches. In the course of the ensuing summer a few more returned. But the larger portion remained in their various places of retirement until the evacuation of the city by the British troops, which took place on the 25th of November, 1783. On the 26th, the day after the evacuation, Dr. Rodgers returned with his family to the city ; and in a short time afterwards, the great body of the exiles were restored to their former habitations.

In taking ,a retrospect of the conduct and character of Dr. Rodgers, with reference to the revolutionary war, it will be nothing more than justice to his memory, and may not be unprofitable to others, to make two or three general remarks.

The first is, that although constitutionally, as well as by habit, a prudent and cautious man, and perhaps sometimes so to an extreme; yet when the path of duty became perfectly plain, he pursued it with fearless intrepidity. This was the case with respect to the American contest. The decision with which he acted in that contest, was beyond what was usual with him.

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A second remark is, that, while he was a firm, and even au ardent whig, yet he did not forget that he was a Minister of Jesus Christ; and never failed to make the latter his prominent character. When a Christian minister ventures much into the society of political men, and suffers his attention to be habitually occupied with their schemes and measures; and especially when he undertakes, in his public prayers and sermons, to expatiate freely on the political events of the day,

* The Hon. Gouverneur Morris,, Esq.

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he attempts a task as difficult as it is delicate. Nay, it may not be going too far to say, that he undertakes a task in which his ministerial feelings and character will seldom wholly escape injury. The truth of this remark, if the writer is not greatly deceived, was often exemplified during the revolutionary war. The conduct of many of the clergy, and especially of those of the Presbyterian church, in the course of that struggle, was indeed nobly patriotic, and eminently useful. Yet it may be seriously doubted, whether them some of them, in their zeal, did not, now and then, in their public ministrations, as well as in their private intercourse, overstep the bounds of propriety ; and appear more like politicians, pleading an earthly cause, than servants of the meek and benevolent Jesus, referring everything to his wise and holy government, and breathing peace on earth and good-will toward men.* It

* It has been said, and doubtless with truth, that while many pious ministers, and other christians in America, during the revolutionary war, were praying, in public and in private, that the councils of Great-Britain might be overthrown ; that defeat and destruction might attend their military and naval armaments ; and that victory, in every quarter, might crown our arms; thousands of pious persons, on the other side of the Atlantic, were praying, in the same language, against America, and in favour of British oppressions. Is it possible to suppose that such opposite petitions, on the same subject, were equally acceptable to Him who hears prayer? It is not possible. But it may be asked, where is the remedy for such occurrences? The remedy lies in ministers and others, when they address the throne of grace, being less of Politicians, and more of christians. It is plain that, if men were less prone to prescribe to the Most high in prayer, and more ready to adopt those humble, submissive, and filial forms of petition, of which the Sacred Volume gives so many noble examples, real christians, in different countries, even in the midst of war, might meet at the throne of grace, as on common territory, and unite in precisely the same requests. Some have been inconsiderate enough to allege that a remedy for all this difficulty may be found, so far as prayers are concerned, in the adoption of stated forms of prayer. But if such persons had an opportunity of perusingog a few of the " forms" and " offices," prepared " by authority,’’ to be used on Fast and Thanksgiving days, and in times of war, in countries where liturgies are established, they would frequently find much of their contents quite as exceptionable, both in spirit and expression, as what sometimes falls from the lips in extemporaneous fervour. With this difference, that in the one case, the evil is confined to its immediate authors; while in the other, it is imposed on thousands, and forced into every reading-desk- into which the form is introduced, There is no remedy to be hoped for from this quarter. It is to be found in the prevalence among ministers of the Gospel, of piety, good sense, sound judgment, and minds deeply imbued with the language and the spirit of the Holy Scriptures.

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would, perhaps, be extravagant praise to say, that Dr. Rodgers, amidst the contagion of the times, was, in this respect, wholly free from fault. But he was certainly much more free from the fault in question, than most of those active clergymen of the day, who took the same side, and possessed as much ardour of mind, as himself. Wherever he went, he set a noble example of devotedness to the ministry of reconciliation. Whether he addressed Conventions, or Legislatures, brigades of soldiers, or christian churches, the peculiar and precious doctrines of the Gospel were not only the constant, but the leading subjects of

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discourse. And the tendency of all his preaching, was to lead the minds of his hearers from this scene of conflict and change, of sin and sorrow, to a more holy and happy world.

Finally; Dr. Rodgers, amidst all the decision with which he thought, and the firmness with which he acted, during the struggle for American Independence, was distinguished for his liberality toward those, who adopted different opinions, amid took a different course. He was remarkably free from the bitterness of party

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worth, h had not only the faith, and the hope, but also the charity of a christian."

* Mr. Morris.

More on post-war reconstruction, New - York Legislative acts supporting churches rebuild.

CHAP. VII.

Psalm i. 3.

 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

THE situation in which the subject of these memoirs, and the remains of his flock, found themselves, on returning from their exile, may be more easily imagined than described. Their numbers greatly reduced by death, and by permanent removals to the country; the pecuniary resources of all of them impaired and of many of them exhausted ; both their houses of worship in a state little short of complete ruin; their parsonage burnt; and a considerable debt accumulated in consequence of their long exclusion from the city,—it may be supposed that nothing but christian faith could have preserved them from total discouragement. This faith they were enabled, in some degree, to exercise. They trusted in the faithfulness of the great Head of the church; in his name they lifted

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up their banner; and he did not either forsake them, or disappoint their hopes.

The first and most serious difficulty which presented itself, was the want of a place of worship. A number of mouths, it was perceived, must necessarily intervene, before either of their churches could be prepared for the reception of a worshipping assembly. In this extremity, the vestry of Trinity church, unsolicited, and with a politeness which did them honour, made an offer of St. George's and St. Paul’s churches, to be used by the congregation alternatively , until one of their own churches could be repaired. This offer was gratefully accepted ; and from November 1783, until the following June, the remains of the congregation alternately worshipped, in conformity with a settled arrangement, in the spacious edifices just mentioned.

In a few days after Doctor Rodgers re-commenced his ministration in New-York , the day which had been recommended by Congress to be observed throughout the United States, as a day of thanksgiving and Prayer, arrived. On this occasion he delivered a sermon on Psalm 126. 3.

which was afterwards published, under the

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following title, " The Divine Goodness displayed in the American Revolution. * " This was the

second publication he ever made † ; and it is valuable, not only on the account of the pious and judicious discussion of its subject, in a religious view, but also on account of the historical matter, with which the body of the discourse and the notes are enriched.

It being found that the Brick church, in Beekman—street, had suffered less from the ravages of the enemy, and could be repaired more speedily, and at much less expense, than the church in Wall-street, it was determined to attempt the restoration of the former without delay. The work was immediately commenced, and completed in about six months, at an expense of between three and four thousand dollars. It was

* This sermon was delivered December 11th, 1783, in St. George’s. Chapel.

† The first was a sermon under the following title, " Holiness the nature and design of the Gospel 0f Christ, A Sermon preached at Stockbridge, June 24, 1779, before the Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, of Berkshire county, state of Massachusetts ; and published by their request" This sermon was preached and published during the Doctor’s residence at Amenia.

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first opened for public worship, after being repaired, on the 27th of June, 1784, when the Doctor delivered a sermon on Psalm 122. 1. 1 was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

As long as the congregation continued to meet in churches belonging to another denomination, it was not easy to draw the line between stated amid occasional worshippers. The opening of the Brick church furnished the first opportunity of drawing this line, and of determining the real strength of the congregation. The result was more favourable than could have been expected. It soon became apparent that the demand for pews could not be supplied, and that another church was indispensable for the accommodation of the people. It was resolved, therefore, as soon as the necessary funds could be procured, to undertake the repairing of the church in Wall—street.

The reverend Mr. Treat did not return to the city after the close of the war. Some considerations of a personal nature induced him to remain in the country until the summer of the year 1784, when, on the first day of July, the congregation

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In the month of March, 1784, Dr. Rodgers, and such of the elders and deacons as had returned from exile, presented a petition to the Corporation of the city, praying a remission of the arrears of rent, which had accumulated during the war, on the lot upon which the Brick church was erected; and also requesting a reduction of the annual remit of the said lot. The prayer of the petition, with respect to both these points, was granted. The back rents, amounting

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to between seven and eight hundred dollars, were all remitted; and the annual rent was reduced from one hundred dollars, to nearly half that sum *.

The Legislature of the State, in their first session after the conclusion of peace, passed an act, entitled, " An Act to enable all the religious denominations in this state to appoint Trustees,

who shall be a body corporate, for the purpose of taking care of time temporalities of their respective congregations, and for other purposes therein mentioned." This act, which is dated April 6th,, 1784 at once afforded relief from all the vexations and injuries which had been so long Sustained, for want of a charter, under the oppressions of the provincial government. In the course of the following month, the Presbyterian congregation met, and became a body corporate, agreeably to the provisions of the act, under the style of " The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New— York." The first Trustees were, Peter Van Brugh Livingston, Joseph Hallet, William Neilson, Daniel McCormick, Daniel Phoenix, Eleazer Miller, Samuel Broome,

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Archibald Currie, and John Mc Kesson. Dr. Rodgers, and the other surviving gentlemen, to whom the Brick church, and the lot on which it stands, had been conveyed, in trust, re-conveyed them to this corporation, soon after it was constituted.

The numerous applications for pews, mentioned in a former page, induced the newly elected Trustees, with the advice of the other officers and members of the congregation, to hasten the repairing of the Wall-street church. The work was accordingly commenced in the autumn of 1784, and completed, at an expense of between six and seven thousand dollars, in the month of .June following. * On the nineteenth day of that month, it was opened for public worship, and a sermon preached by Dr. Rodgers, from Psalm lxxxiv. 1, 2. The pews on the ground floor were all immediately taken, and a number of those in the gallery.

The expense of repairing these churches was

* The whole of the interior of the Wall-street church had been destroyed during the war. Nothing but the walls and the roof, or rather the principal timbers of the roof, were left.

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defrayed by subscription. And as this subscription was taken up at a period peculiarly inauspicious for raising money, a more than common share of address, patience, and perseverance, was necessary for prosecuting it with success., Dr. Rodgers, as usual, shrunk from no task that was assigned him. He went from door to door, for a number of weeks, begging for the church; and chiefly to his exertions, under God, may the speedy and happy accomplishment of the undertaking he ascribed.

Toward the close of the year 1784, Mr. James Wilson, a licensed candidate for the gospel ministry, arrived in New-York front Scotland. It was perceived that when the Wall-street church, which was then repairing, should be completed, a second minister would be absolutely necessary for the maintenance of regular service in both churches. Mr. Wilson having preached for

several months, on probation, to the acceptance of the people, it was determined to call him to be one of their pastors. This was done, unanimously, on the twenty—ninth day of April, 1785. Mr. Wilson accepted the call, and was ordainedto the work of time gospel ministry, and installed collegiate pastor, with Dr. Rodgers, of the United

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churches of New-York, on the tenth day of August following.

Soon after the close of the revolutionary war, the Legislature of New-York passed an act, establishing a board, styled, " The Regents of the University of New-York." The powers and duties of this board are highly important. To them it belongs to grant charters of incorporation to all seminaries of learning; to visit and inspect colleges and other seminaries; and in general, to watch over the interests of literature throughout the state. Of this University Doctor Rodgers was chosen Vice- Chancellor, which place he continued to occupy until his death.

In the month of May, in the year 1785, the Synod of New-York and Philadelphia, then the supreme judicatory of the Presbyterian church in the United States, began to take those steps for revising the public standards of the church, which issued in their adoption and establishment on time present plan. Every step in this system of measures, affords evidence of the respect in which the subject of these memoirs was held, and the confidence reposed in his wisdom and fidelity. He was a member of almost every committee

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appointed to conduct the business. On the 23d day of May, in the year just mentioned, the Synod being convened in Philadelphia, it was on motion resolved,— "That Dr. Witherspoon, Dr. "Rodgers, Dr. Robert Smith*, Dr. Patrick Allison, Dr. Samuel S. Smith, Mr. John Woodhull, "Mr. Cooper†, Mr. Latta ‡ , Dr. Duffield, and Mr. Matthew Wilson, be a committee to take into consideration the constitution of the church of Scotland, and other protestant churches; and agreeably to the general principles of presbyterian government, complete a system of

* The Rev. Dr. Robert Smith., of Pequea, Pennsylvania, a gentlemau of respectable talents and learning, and of eminent piety. His most important publication consists of three sermons on Faith, in the fourth volume of the American Preacher. He died about twelve years before Dr. Rodgers.

† The Rev. Robert Cooper, of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, afterwards Doctor of Divinity. Dr. Cooper had a remarkably strong, sound mind; and though late in acquiring an education, and entering the ministry, he was a divine of great judiciousness, piety, and worth.

‡ The Rev. James Latta, of Chesnut Level, Pennsylvania, afterwards Doctor of Divinity. Doctor Latta, for talents and learning, as well as piety, held a high place among the clergy of his day. He died at an advanced age, a few years before Dr. Rodgers. He published a Discourse on Psalmody, which does honour to his memory.

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general rules for the government of the Synod, and the several Presbyteries under their inspection, and the people in their communion; and to make report of their proceedings herein at the next meeting of synod."

The same afternoon, an overture was brought into synod, that, for the better management of

On the 17th of May, 1786, on resuming the consideration of this overture, the following motion was introduced into the synod, and carried in the affirmative, viz. " Resolved, that this Synod will establish, out of its own body, three or more subordinate synods, out of which shall

be composed a General Assembly, Synod, or " Council, agreeably to a system hereafter to be

adopted. In pursuance of this resolution, the Rev. Doctors Rodgers, Smith, Duffield*, and

*The Rev. George Duffield, D. D. Pastor of the church in Pine-street, Philadelphia. This gentleman was distinguished for the fervour of his piety, his intimate acquaintance with the constitution of the Presbyterian church, and his excellent powers as an extemporary preacher.

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Allison*; and the Rev. Messrs. Latta, Martin, .Mathew Wilson, Graham, Houston, James Finley, and Hall, were appointed "a committee "to prepare and report a plan for the division of "the synod into three or more synods."

On the 22d day of May, in this year, the committee appointed in 1785, to mature a system of discipline and government for the church, made their report, which was referred to another committee, consisting of the following gentlemen, viz, the reverend Doctors Witherspoon, Rodgers,

* The Rev. Patrick Allison, D. D. was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1740. He received his education in the College of Philadelphia; was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry, and installed Pastor of the Presbyterian church in Baltimore, in the year 1762 ; where he remained honoured and useful until his death, which took place in 1802, in the 62d year of his age. Dr. Allison undoubtedly held a place in the very first rank of American clergy. He shone with distinguished lustre in the judicatories of the church. For the perspicuity, the correctness, the sound reasoning, and the masculine eloquence of his speeches, in ecclesiastical assemblies, he was long admired, and had scarcely an equal.

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Mc Whorter, Sproat*, Duffield, Allison, Ewing,† Smith, and Wilson; together with Isaac Snowden, Esq. and Mr. Robert Taggart, and Mr. John Pinkerton, Elders. This committee was directed to meet in Philadelphia, in the month of September following; and was empowered to "digest such a system as they shall think to be accommodated to the Presbyterian church in America, and procure 300 copies to be printed and distributed among the Presbyteries."

* The Rev. James Sproat, D. D. was a native of Scituate, in Massachusetts, where he was born April 11th, 1721. He received his education in Yale College; was ordained to the work of the ministry at Guilford, Connecticut, August 23, 1743 ; was removed to the pastoral charge of the second Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, in March, 1769; and died October 18th 1793, in the 73d year of his age. Dr. Sproat was one of the most venerable and excellent ministers of his day.

† The Rev. John Ewing, D. D. Pastor of the First Presbyterian church in Philadelphia, and Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. He was born at Nottingham, in Maryland, June 21st, 1732 ; and died Sept. 8th, 1802, in the 71st year of his age. The eminent character of this gentleman ; the vigour of his talents ; the extent of his learning ; his extraordinary accomplishments as the head of a literary institution ; and his excellence as a preacher, are well known. His Lectures on Natural Philosophy, and a volume of Sermons, will long attest them.