building. The absence of such a place of worship for these many years was not because the inhabitants lacked religious life and convictions, for, as Dr. Woolworth said in his dedicatory sermon, "From the beginning of the settlement of this island there were not wanting such individuals among its inhabitants as feared God, professed His name and manifested a commendable concern and zeal for His sacred cause. The population was, however, for a long time so inconsiderable that no exertions were made for the introduction of regular public worship among themselves. Those who were seriously disposed attended the churches in the vicinity of the island. This was the state of things until the early part of the last century, when a decent house of public worship was erected." And thus it was that the building of a sanctuary was so long delayed. Now, however, steps were taken towards the erection of a house of God, a place of worship. This was in 1732, as the following copy of a subscription paper will show: "We whos names are hereunto subscribed haveing the Interests of Our Common Lord at heart and being willing to Contribute for the promoting and Incouraging the Cause and Interest of Religion upon Shelter Island, and Considering ye Small number of the Inhabitants do Covenant and promise to pay or Cause to be paid the Several Sums Affixed to our names to Brinley Sylvester or Order at or before the first day of January next ensuing the Date hereof, for the erecting, building and Compleating a Meeting house for the publick worship of Almighty God and not otherwise. In witness whereof we have Set to our names to Geather with ye Several Sums annexed this 19th Day of August Anno Dom., 1732."

How soon the purpose was accomplished it is hard to tell, since different dates by different writers have been given. Thompson, in the first edition of his "History of Long Island," says: "The first church was erected by the Presbyterians in 1733, the funds for defraying the expenses of which were collected upon the island and the adjacent towns." In his second edition, however, published some four years later than the first, greatly enlarged and far more correct, he changes the foregoing statement and makes it read thus: "The first meeting house was completed in 1743, and remained until 1816, when the present church was erected on the same site." He precedes this statement with another, which goes to show that the latter date is the correct one. That foregoing statement is to the effect that in 1742 Jonathan Havens, Jr., gave a half acre of ground near the middle of the island for the setting of a meeting house and for a burying ground, and the next year, in 1743, he associated with others in erecting a building for religious worship, and to accomplish their benevolent design contributions were solicited in the neighboring towns, and even in the cities of New York and Boston. Dr. Prime, who wrote an ecclesiastical history of Long Island, and which appeared two years later than Dr. Thompson's second edition, the purpose of which, as its title would imply, brought him. into closer touch with church history here and elsewhere, for which reason we may believe it the more reliable in ecclesiastical matters, confirms in general the second date of Thompson. He says: "It is difficult to ascertain the exact date of the erection of the first house of worship, but it is supposed to have been somewhere near the middle of the last century." He further adds that it was built under the supervision of Brinley Sylvester, who was the principal proprietor of the island. All this goes to confirm the latter date of 1743 as the correct one, being nearer to the middle of the last century than 1733, and further, being the year following the one in which the donor of the land, Jonathan Havens, Jr., set apart his gift for the purpose of "setting a meeting house and for a burying ground. And since this is the date, I am inclined to believe that the effort set on foot in 1732 was accomplished in 1743. Perhaps the completion of the purpose was hastened toward the end by the

great revival which spread over the eastern end of Long Island during the decade of 1740, for it is well known that a great religious awakening makes a community sensible of its religious needs, which most generally finds its expression in the erection of a sanctuary or in the renovation of the same.

Regarding that original meeting house of Shelter Island, built over one hundred and fifty years ago, there are still those living in our midst who remember it with affection. Its shape was quadrangle, with a quadrangle roof, by which is meant that its dimensions were the same on all four sides, and that its roof slanted upward and inward from all four sides, meeting in the center, the whole perhaps surmounted by a cupola. It has been described as "a small square building with four roofs meeting at a point." Some of its furnishings, such as the pulpit, sounding board, stairs and a few of its pews were brought from the Rutgers street church in New York. The building, according to Rev. Mr. Lord, was mainly owned by the proprietors of the island, who held the sole and exclusive right of the pews. It stood on this very spot where we now worship until the beginning of this present structure, when it was moved to the eastward, where the parsonage now stands, being there used while the new house of worship was being erected, after which it was again moved to the westward, near the middle of the lot opposite the grist mill, where it served the purpose of a sheepfold until time and decay had completed its destruction. Rev. Mr. Lord,

in his historical sermon of 1856, speaks of it thus: "The place where it stood and its whole aspect rises up before me in vivid recollection. It was a house every way worthy of Goldsmith's Deserted Village, always abating its dimensions. It was old and of narrow accommodations. A quadrate building with a quadrate roof. It was at the time of its erection probably equal to the wants of the people, but at the time of which I am speaking the tooth of time had made such inroads upon it that it gave unmistakable evidence of decay. It had one semblance at least to the sanctuary of which the Psalmist speaks: 'In it the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.' Among the first ministers to officiate in the building was the Rev. William Adams, who occupied the position of chaplain to Mr. Brinley Sylvester and his family, having his home in the Manor House. Mr. Adams, at the time of his coming to this island, was a young man of twentyseven years of age, the son of the Rev. Eliphalet Adams, of Con

necticut, and a graduate of Yale in 1730. Upon graduation—I quote from the Annals of the American Pulpit-he became a tutor for two years, after which a preacher of more than sixty years. He was never married nor ordained, as he declared he would not be "encumbered either with a wife or a parish." He first preached in the North Parish of New London, now known as Montville, and later in North Groton, now called Ledyard, after the withdrawal of the Rev. Ebenezer Punderson. In 1735 he declined a unanimous call from the latter parish. In January, 1737, he began to preach in Guilford, and continued there until he came to this island, presumably in the latter part of that year, and here he continued until Mr. Brinley Sylvester's death in 1752. The next year, in October of 1753, his father died. He was then invited to supply the vacant pulpit of New London, which he did until February, 1756. In 1758 he began to preach at Orient, and continued there until 1760. In that year Mr. Thomas Dering, having moved with his family upon the estate of his wife, Mrs. Mary Sylvester Dering, he resumed his residence in the manor house as private chaplain, and continued in this relation until the breaking out of the Revolution, when Mr. Dering had to take refuge with his family within the American lines. Altogether he is said to have labored here for more than thirty years. He was here when the great evangelist Whitefield visited the island in 1764. His latter years were spent in New London, chiefly in social enjoyment and domestic repose. He frequently rambled into the country on visits to the farmers belonging to the parish, and always made it a point on such occasions to communicate more or less religious instruction. He was short and stout, wore a white wig and a cocked hat, and usually walked about the streets dressed in a black study gown. He was a respectable preacher, but in nowise eminent. He has left one sermon in printed form, preached on the day of Thanksgiving for the success of the British arms in the reduction of Montreal and the Conquest of Canada in 1760. He died September 25th, 1798, in the 88th year of his age.

While occupying the position of chaplain to the Sylvesters, Rev. Mr. Adams likewise fulfilled the duties of preacher and pastor to the community. This is established by the following paper, which is in substance a call to Mr. Adams extended by the citizens of this place to become their pastor:

"We the Inhabitance of Shelter Island in Suffolk County, In the Province of New York, by the providence of God being In

capable of a Constant attendance upon ye Publick worship of God in any of the neighboring Towns, and being sensable that it is our Incumbent duty to do to the utmost of our power to promote and advance ye Kingdom and Interests of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the salvation of our own souls do therefore out of a sense of duty and for the Incouragement of a minister to preach the Gospel amongst us do promise and Ingage every person for himselve to pay or cause to be paid the several sums of New York money affixed to our respective names here under written to Mr. William Adams to preach the Gospel on Shelter Island as in such case is customary and that for the space of one year, in witness whereof we have set our hand this first Day of April Anno Dom., 1746:

This paper, drawn up evidently by the same hand that drew up the subscription paper of 1732, is in the handwriting of Mr. Brinley Sylvester, so that both papers can be said to have had Mr. Sylvester as their author. This call to the Rev. William Adams for his pastoral services bears the date of the first day of April, Anno Dom. 1746." The following April the Presbytery of Long Island met by commission in this place, as the following extract of the Presbytery's minutes will show:

"Shelter Island, April 21, 1747. Met according to the order and appointment of Presbytery in the preceding session. Messrs. Nathaniel Mather, Silvanus White and Samuel Buell, to communicate to each other the Sentiments and Dispositions of their particular Churches relative to Presbyterian Government as exhibited in the Plan of our Covenanted Union. . Upon representation then made it appeared hopefull that most of the Churches on the east end of Long Island would comply with and submit to Presbyterian Government."

On June 11, 1766, the Presbytery of Long Island held a most important meeting on this island. It was for the express purpose of ordaining a young man to the ministry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is such an important event in the life of this