offices and promoted Dissenters to their places. The color of the glasses through which Mr. Henderson viewed this alarming situa tion is indicated in his description of John Anderson, who supplanted William Pinhorne, "a very sensible honest Gentleman who is a zealous true member of the Church of England,” in New Jersey. Mr. Anderson is described as "A scotch Presby terian who commanded a ship to Darien in the Scottish expedition thither and on his return in at Amboy N. Jersey & left his ship rot & plundrd her & with ye plunder bought land." Another Dissenter promoted to the place of an English churchman was John Harrison, "who, as I am credibly informed," says the alarmed Mr. Henderson was brought up with one Kid a Pirate." (Docs. Rel. Col. Hist. N. Y. V, 335.

These fierce allegations can be read with amusement today when, happily, the relations between the denominations are so cordial, but in that period they were doubtless the evidences of a belief as sincere as the zeal was ill-tempered. The interesting and creditable fact which remains after the clouds and dust of those old-time quarrels have blown away is that while the "wicked and highflying governor who preceded his Excellency Brigadier Hunter, our present governor (may the Lord bless and long preserve him)* defeated the repeated endeavors of Mr. Mackemie and Mr. McNish to effect a Presbyterian organization in New York City, the efforts were successful under Gov. Hunter.

This happy consummation was reached in 1716. This was a year of unusual activity among the Presbyterians throughout the Colonies, and the organization of the First Presbyterian Church of New York in December of that year followed by only three months after the organization of the first Presbyterian Synod in America.

Two hundred years ago there were in the colonies four general groups of Presbyterian congregations, somewhat loosely organized: One in the Province of New York, with the strongest congregations on Long Island; one with Philadelphia as its center, including part of Pennsylvania and West Jersey; one centering at Newcastle, Delaware; and one including the peninsula between the Delaware river and Chesapeake bay centering at Snow Hill.

*See letter of Rev. James Anderson quoted hereafter.

The Presbytery of Philadelphia met in that city from September 18 to September 22, 1716. On September 21 it adopted a minute declaring that "It having pleased Divine Providence so to increase our number, as that, after much deliberation, we judge it may be more serviceable to the interest of religion to divide ourselves. into subordinate meetings or Presbyteries, constituting one annually as a Synod, to meet in Philadelphia or elsewhere, to consist of all the members of each subordinate Presbytery or meeting for this year at least," it was agreed by the Presbytery, after serious deliberation, that the first subordinate meeting of the Presbytery should meet at Philadelphia or elsewhere as they should see fit; the second at Newcastle, Del.; the third at Snow Hill; and those on Long Island were urged to form a fourth. (Webster's Hist. Prsb. Ch. 95.)

In the December following the First Presbyterian Church was organized in New York City, the 200th anniversary being commemorated from December 3 to December 10, 1916, inclusive. The founders, as we learn from a petition of their successors quoted hereafter, were "sundry Protestants of their perswasion who came over into this Province from Great Britain and Ireland together with other Inhabitants of the said City of New York." (Doc. Hist. N. Y. III, 497.) The leading spirits in the movement were Gilbert Livingston, Patrick MacKnight, John Nicoll and Thomas Smith. Mr. Livingston was a merchant and a man of standing in the community. He served as an Assessor in the Dock Ward, was "Farmer of Excise," and received other marks of popular confidence. He owned property on the water front at the lower end of Queen street (now Pearl street), but does not appear to have been a man of great wealth. (Common Council Minutes III, 148, 206; Docs. Rel. Col. Hist. N. Y. V, 656-7, 872.) Mr. MacKnight was a merchant. In September, 1716, he was elected Collector of Taxes in the South Ward. (Com. Counc. Mins. III, 127.) Mr. Nicoll (or Nicols, as the name was sometimes spelled) was an apothecary. He was then a voter in the East Ward, subsequently a Deputy Constable, and owned a small amount of land. (Com. Counc. Mins. II, 173; V, 66, 198.) Mr. Smith was a merchant. (Deed quoted hereafter.) We are unable at this writing to determine which of the Th mas Sm Es of that period he was.

We have no detail of the meeting in December, 1716, at which the movement for the organization of the First Presbyterian Church took concrete form.

In the summer of 1717, the movement received a strong impetus and encouragement from the visit of the Rev. James Anderson to New York, an able preacher attached to the Newcastle Presbytery. Having business in New York, he was persuaded particularly by the Scotch Presbyterians of the town to preach, and in order that this might be done publicly and lawfully, Mr. McKnight and Mr. Livingston applied to the Court of General Quarter Sessions to have a house situated in the East Ward designated for that purpose. The order of the court, granting the petition, reads as follows (Valentine's Manual, 1849, p. 363):

Att a Court of Generall Quarter Sessions of the Peace,
held for the City and County of New York, at the City
Hall of the said City, on Wednesday, the Seventh Day
of August, Anno Dom. 1717—

Upon Application made to this Court by Mr. Patrick Macknight nd Mr. Gilbert Livingston, it is Ordered, that the house scituate in the East Ward of this City, commonly called and known by the name of Venvos'st house, be and is hereby Recorded a Publick Meeting house for the Congregation of Dissenting Protestants, Called Presbyterians, for the Publick Worship of Almighty God.

The congregation was well pleased with Mr. Anderson's preaching and extended a call to him. The call was presented to the Presbytery of Newcastle, to which he belonged, and was referred by that body to the Synod. The latter appointed a committee to meet at Newcastle to receive and consider the reasons of the people against the removal of their pastor and "to fully determine the affair." The wording of the resolution "to fully determine the affair" was equivalent to our modern expression "with power and was so construed; and without waiting for another meeting of the Synod, the committee "transported" Mr. Anderson to New York. (Hodge I, 86.)

Greenleaf, pp. 126-127, says that Mr. Anderson was a native of Scotland. This name is printed Venoos in Valentine's Manual, which we take to be a typographical error for Venvos, a well-known name.

On December 3, 1717, Pastor Anderson wrote a letter to Principal Sterling of Glasgow, in which he gives the following description of New York and strength of the denomination at that time.

This place, the city of New York, where I now am, is a place of considerable moment and very populous, consisting, as I am informed, of about 3,000 families or householders. It is a place of as great trade or business (if not more now) as any in America. In it are two ministers of the Church of England, two Dutch ministers, one French minister, a Lutheran minister, an Anabaptist and also a Quaker meeting. Endeavors were made again and again by the famous Mr. Francis Makemie, Mr. MeNish, and others toward the settlement of a Scots church in this city, but by the arbitrary management and influence of a wicked high-flying governor, who preceded his excellency Brigadier Hunter, our present governor (may the Lord bless and long preserve him), that business has been hitherto impeded and could never be brought in a likely way to bear.

"The last summer, I, being providentially here and being obliged to stay here about business the matter of a month, at the desire of a few, especially Scots people, preached each Sabbath. Though there were pretty many hearers, yet these were not able and willing to do anything toward the setting forward such a work. A few there were willing to do their utmost, but so few that I had small grounds to suppose that anything effectual could be done. Some time before our last Synod, this small handful with some few others that had joined them came to the Presbytery of Newcastle desiring a transportation of me from Newcastle to New York, which the Presbytery referred to the Synod then soon to meet. The Synod. . transported me hither.

The people here who are favorers of our church and persuasion, as I've told you, are but few, and none of the richest, yet for all I am not without hopes that with God's blessing they shall in a little time increase. Some are already come to live in the city and more are expected whose language would not allow them to join in the service of the English church. The chief thing now wanting, in all appearance, with God's blessing, is a large convenient church to congregate in." (The Presbyterian Magazine, October, 1851, pp. 480 et seq.)

In 1718, the committee of the Synod reported "that they had transported him "- Mr. Anderson-" to New York, having had power lodged in them by the Synod to determine that affair."

Mr. Anderson remained pastor of the church until the summer of 1726 when he was dismissed in order to take charge of a churc in New Donegal, Pa. (Greenleaf, 126-127.)

New York City Two Centuries Ago

Having secured Mr. Anderson for their pastor, the next care of the congregation was to acquire property for a church. A glance backward from our present city of over 5,000,000 inhabi tants, covering an area of 300 square miles, to the little city of two centuries ago, will give us a better impression of the environment of that early congregation, a fuller realization of the age of this historic church organization which reaches over two-thirds of the history of the city, and a better understanding of the reasons for the selection of the first chruch site in Wall street.

In 1712, there were only 4,846 white people in the City of New York. There were 970 blacks, making the total population only 5,816. (Val. Man. 1849, 360.) As the population was 7.248 in 1723 an increase of about 130 a year- we may conclude that the population in 1716 was about 6,336. The closely settled portion of the town was below Wall street, and Wall street had extensive vacant lots. The old city wall, along the line of which Wall street was laid out, and which formerly marked the northernmost bounds of the city, had been demolished only about 16 years before, and population was beginning to push farther northward. On the west side of Broadway north of Liberty street were the open fields of the extensive King's Garden, while buildings were being erected at intervals on the east side as far north as Fulton street. Further east, along Nassau street, William street and particularly Pearl street, houses were going up, almost as far as the "Swamp "- the leather section at Beekman street. The political centers of the town were Fort George at the foot of Bowling Green, and the new City Hall which stood on the north side of Wall street partly across the foot of Nassau street. There were only eight other regular churches or meeting houses at that time. The old Dutch Church in the Fort had been replaced by a new King's Chapel in 1693-6, devoted to the service of the Church of England. The first regular synagogue of the Jews, erected 1682-1700, stood on the north side of Mill street (now