talked of indifferent things: They pretended they were going towards Boston; they did not say one syllable to me of preaching here, nor did not ask leave to do it; They applied themselves to the Dutch Minister, for leave to preach in the Dutch Church in this Town, who told them he was very willing, provided they cou'd get my consent; They never came to me for it; They went likewise to the Elders of the French Church, to desire leave to preach in the French Church, they gave them the same Answer the Dutch had; all this while they never applied themselves to me for leave, nor did they offer to qualify themselves as the Law directs; but on the Monday following I was informed that Mackensie had preached on the day before at the House of one Jackson, a Shoemaker in this town, and that Hampton had preached on Long Island, and that Mackensie after having preached here on Sunday was gone over to Long Island with intent to preach in all the towns in that Island, having spread a Report thereto, that they had a Commission from the Queen, to preach all along this Continent; I was informed on the same day from New Jersey, that the same men had preached in several places in that Province, and had ordained after their manner some Young men, who had preached without it among the Dissenters; And that when they were asked, if they had leave from the Governmt they said they had no need of leave from any Governor, they had the Queen's Authority for what they Did; These Reports and the Information I had from Long Island, of their behaviour there, induced me to send an order to the Sherif of Queen's County on Long Island, to bring them to this place, which he did on the 23d day of January in the Evening: The Attorney General was with me; I asked Mackensie how he cane to preach in this Government, without acquainting me with it, and without qualifying himself as the Law Requires; he told me had qualified himself according to law in Virginia, and that having so done, he wou'd preach in any part of the Queen's Dominions where he pleased, that this Province is part of the Queen's Dominions as well as Virginia, and that the License he had obtained there was as good as any he cou'd obtain here; I told him that Virginia was part of the Queen's Dominions as well as this Province, but that they are two different Governments: That no Order or Law of that Province can take place in this, no more than any order or Law of this Province can take place in that, which no reasonable Man wou'd imagine cou'd be allowed; he told me he understood the Law, as well as any man, and that he was satisfied he had not offended against the law, That the Penal Laws of England, did not extend to and were not

in force in America; to which the Attorney General replyed, that if the Penal Laws did not take place in America, neither did the Act of Toleration, nor is it proper, said he, that it shou'd, since the latter is no more than a Suspension of the former; Mackensie said that the Queen granted liberty of Conscience to all Her Subjects without Reserve, I told him he was so far in the Right, that the Queen was graciously pleased to grant liberty of Conscience to all her subjects except Papists, that he might be a Papist for all that I knew, under the pretence of being of another perswasion, that therefore it was necessary he shou'd have satisfyed the Governmt what he was, before he ventured to Preach; Upon that he told me, that he wou'd quallify himself in any manner, and wou'd settle in this Province; I told him when ever any of the people of either of the Provinces under my Governmt had Desired leave to call a minister of their own Perswasion, they had never been Denyed it, but that I shou'd be very cautious how I allow'd a man so prone to bid Defiance to Governmt as I found he was; He said he had done nothing that he cou'd not answer, so I ordered the High Sherif of this City to take them into his Custody, And I directed the Attorney General to proceed against them, according as the law directs; which he has done by preferring an Indictment against Mackensie for preaching in this City without Qualifying himself, as the Act of Toleration directs; The Grand Jury found the Bill, but the Petty Jury acquitted him, so he is gone towards New England uttering many severe threats against me; As I hope that I have done nothing in this matter but what I was in duty obliged to do, especially since I think it is very plain by the Act of Toleration, it was not intended to tollerate or allow strowling Preachers; But only that those persons who dissent from the Church of Eng land should be at liberty to serve God after their own way, in the several places of their abode, without being lyable to the Penalties of certain laws; so I Intreat your Lordp's protection against this malicious man, who is well known in Virginia and Maryland to be a Disturber of the Peace and quiet of all the places he comes into; he is Jack of all Trades, he is a Preacher, a Doctor of Physick, a Merchant, an Attorney, or Counsellor at Law, and, which is worse of all, a Disturber of Governments; I shou'd have sent your Lordps this account sooner, but that I was willing to see the Issue of the Tryal. I am, My Lords,

Your Lordps most faithful humb: Servt

CORNBURY.

(Docs. Rel. Col. Hist. N. Y. IV, 1186, 1187.)

II

THE FOUNDING OF THE FIRST CHURCH

Denominational Jealousies

The appointment of Colonel or Brigadier Robert Hunter as Governor of New York and New Jersey in the fall of 1709 in the eighth year of the reign of Queen Anne marked the beginning of a period during which the Presbyterians increased in numbers and founded the First Presbyterian Church in New York. Governor Hunter was of Scotch parentage, brought up in the communion of the Church of England. In education, mind and manners he was far superior to most of his predecessors in office. and much more liberal than they towards other denominations. His bringing of the 3,000 Palatines and finding them homes on the Hudson was an indication of his humanity. Although he did what seemed fair and reasonable for the promotion of the Established Church, he did not hesitate to criticize its clergymen if he thought the latter deserved it. "The ancient Chappell in the Fort (hine illae lachrymae) for many years past a Bear Garden I have at great expence put in repair so that it is now one of the most descent & most constantly frequented Houses of Prayer in all America," he wrote in 1712. And "I have by a liberal contribution & all the countenance and influence I could give it finished Mr. Veseys Steeple" on Trinity Church; but notwithstanding these manifestations of his friendliness to the church to which he belonged, he criticized Mr. Vesey as being "in the first rank" of those "whom I must pronounce vicious, if Faction, Pride, Malice and blind Zeal be vices." (Docs. Rel. Col. Hist. N. Y. V, 311.)

On the other hand, the Church of England people thought Governor Hunter too liberal to the Presbyterians and other dissenters. By 1712, the Presbyterians had increased in influence in New York and New Jersey to such an extent that on June 2 of that year, Jacob Henderson, missionary at "Dover Hundred in Pensilvania," wrote a letter giving a "true state " of the Church of England in New York and New Jersey in which he charged that Governor Hunter turned Church of England men out of local

offices and promoted Dissenters to their places. The color of the glasses through which Mr. Henderson viewed this alarming situation 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 Presbyterian 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 ̊ths of that period he was.