Laying of the Corner-stone of
Holy Trinity Church, Harlem.
The corner-stone of Trinity
Church, of Harlem, was laid by
Bishop Potter, assisted by
several of the Episcopal
clergyman of this City,
yesterday afternoon. The new
edifice is to be erected on the
corner of One Hundred and
Twenty-fifth street and Fifth
avenue, for the use of the
congregation now worshiping in
National Hall, of which Rev.
William N. McVickar is the
Rector. The church will be of
the Romanesque style of
architecture, and will seat
about 1,000 persons. It will
front on Fifth-avenue, cover an
area of 100 by 110 feet. There
will be only one gallery an end
one in the body of the edifice;
but a choir and organ gallery
will be built on one side of the
chancel, which latter is to be
polygonal in form. The clear
space under the roof is to be
open-timbered, the height of the
ridge from the floor to be fifty
feet. Adjoining the vestry-room
of the church there is to be a
lecture-room capable of seating
500 persons. This, with its
connections, will be used for
Sunday school purposes, and will
accommodate about 800 children.
The material of which the
edifice is to be constructed is
white brick, made in Newark,
N.J.; the dressings, sills,
lintels, coping, &c., to be of
Berea stone, quarried in Ohio.
The front will have six turrets,
and on the rear end, on One
Hundred and Twenty-fifth-street,
there will be a campanile
running up to the height of 175
feet. In the centre of the front
gable there is to be a
wheel-window of Ohio stone,
immediately over the main
entrance. The total cost of the
building will be about $75,000.
It is intended to have it ready
for use in November next, as the
work will be pushed steadily
through to completion. The
architect is Mr. John Welch, of
Brooklyn.
There was a very large
attendance at the services
yesterday. At 4:15 o'clock
procession of the wardens and
vestrymen of the congregation,
Bishop Potter, Rev. Dr. S.H.
Tyng, Rev. Messrs. McVickar,
Ray, of Grace Chapel, Harlem,
Rev. Professor Johnson, of the
Episcopal Seminary, and other
clergymen, moved from the
pastoral residence to the site
of the new church, reciting the
122d Psalm. The Bishop recited
the prayers prescribed in the
Episcopal ritual for services of
this character, and laid the
cornerstone. This ceremony being
ended, the Bishop congratulated
the assembled congregation on
the inauguration of the good
work they had undertaken, and
introduced Rev. Dr. S.H. Tyng.
Dr. Tyng, after paying a high
complement to the Bishop for the
Zeal he had ever displayed in
furthering the cause of the
Church, and extending its
influence in this diocese,
referred to the work now
undertaken as another evidence
of his labors, his fostering,
care and the beneficial results
of his Episcopal Government. The
location selected for the new
church was, he said, the finest
in the whole city, and its
erection here would awaken a
deep interest in the cause of
religion, and be made an
instrument of great good to
future generations. This spot
was destined to be, twenty years
hence, the centre of the wealth,
intelligence and refinement of
this metropolis, and he hoped
that the men who had undertaken
by the erection of this edifice
to carry out the principles of
the Church, would prove
themselves to be in every way
worthy of their trust.
The "Gloria in Excelsis" was
then sung by the assembled
congregation, and the Bishop
closed the services with the
Benediction.
The box deposited in the
corner-stone contained a list of
the wardens and vestrymen of the
church; copy of a sermon
preached in February last by the
Rector; a programme of the
services in the laying of the
stone; copies of the Protestant
Churchman, the New York Times,
and other City papers; by-laws
of the Harlem Bank and Harlem
Dispensary; Manual of the Board
of School Trustees of the
Twelfth Ward; silver and nickel
coins and specimens of
postal-currency, and a $1
greenback.(
1)
* * * *
The Dutch Settlers on
Manhattan Island-Address by
Hon.J.W. Beckman.
A special meeting of the St.
Nicholas Society was held last
evening at the hall of the
Historical Society, corner of
Second-avenue and
Eleventh-street, for the purpose
of listening to an address by
the President, Hon. James W.
Beekman. The chair was occupied
by the First Vice-President, Mr.
Benjamin II. Field, who
introduced the speaker of the
evening with a few appropriate
remarks. The address of Mr.
Beekman was a
carefully-prepared, patriotic
and instructive review of the
historical position of Holland,
her achievements in ancient
times, her influence upon the
civilization of the world, and
especially her influence in
molding the character of the
present inhabitants of the
United States. The original
composition of the Dutch nation
was first briefly treated of,
and next the founding of the
Dutch colonies in this country,
and especially the Island of
Manhattan, which the speaker
described as containing in 1628
the two settlements,
New-Amsterdam and Harlem,
separated by a wilderness,
infested with Indians and even
wolves for as late as 1685 a
proclamation is on record
granting the petition of the
inhabitants to hunt and kill the
wolves found on the island, New
York was then a small trading
station, like those established
in more recent times by the
Hudson Bay Company. In 1673 it
contained 300 houses and 3,000
souls. In 1675 the total wealth
of New York was $226,000 50,
that in less than two hundred
years it had increased four
hundred fold in population, and
three thousand fold in wealth. A
record of the date of 1679 was
referred to, which detailed the
experience of two pioneers of a
religious sect then budding in
Holland, who landed at Manhattan
on Saturday, Sept. 23, and were
struck with the beauty and
variety of the fruits. They
essayed the journey to Harlem,
than an undertaking occupying
three hours of time and some
little danger, and passing up
Broadway, then lined with negro
huts, they left the town. On
their return they found
themselves in trouble on account
of their religious tenets, and
were debarred from trading with
the citizens, or even traveling
without permission from the
Governor.
The infant colonies of the New
World had been founded by the
Dutch and transferred to English
control, as an incident of
European politics, before they
were half a century old; but
they were soon made independent
of England by their own manhood,
and were now, the speaker
claimed, exponents of the energy
and industry and education
brought here by the early
colonists, who were mainly from
Holland and the eastern shires
of England, which were in large
part populated by Dutch
immigration.
The remainder of the paper
included a review of the
Pre-Columbian discoveries of
Scandinavian explorers, and
cited discoveries in Iceland of
tombstones dated 1135, and of
records of visits by north men
to a point called by them as
Finland, and now proven to be
identical with the shores of
Narragansett Bay. The speaker's
peroration was an eloquent
tribute to the early efforts of
the Dutch in the introduction of
popular education and the
effects of such efforts as
exhibited now in every branch of
industrial and inventive art.
The address was received with
marked pleasure by the large
audience assembled, and at its
close a vote of thanks to Mr.
Beekman was passed unanimously,
and the address ordered to be
printed for distribution among
the members and for record i n
the archives of the Saint
Nicholas Society.(2)
* * * *
The Harlem-Newark Homicide
Case
Coroner Schirmer proceeded
yesterday to take some action in
the case of Hugh Kelly, the man
who died in Newark a day or two
ago, from the effects of
injuries sustained through an
assault committed upon him in
Harlem, near One Hundred and
Thirteenth street, on the 2d ult.
As the Coroner ascertained that
Coroner Chase, of Newark, had
taken the necessary steps to
secure the attendance of the
witnesses, he dropped the case
entirely. A brother of the
deceased applied yesterday to
Dr. Harris, of the Health Board,
for a permit for burial, which
was refused until a proper
certificate had been given by
the Coroner holding the
inquest.(3)
* * * *
Third Anniversary of the
Harlem Catholic Association
The Harlem Catholic
Association celebrated their
third anniversary at Sultzer's
East River Park yesterday
afternoon. The members of the
society, numbering about
seventy-five, and accompanied by
their female friends, devoted
themselves to terpsichorean
amusements, and gaily treaded
the lively measures played by
Grafulla's String Band. There
was a good attendance, and
everything went very pleasantly.
The object of the Society is to
form a club and build a hall and
reading-room for the benefit of
the Catholic young men of this
district, whereby a taste for
literature and the graver
questions of life may be
cultivated.(4)
* * * *
The New Harlem Bridge
The work on the Harlem
Bridge has at last been nearly
brought to a close. The mason
work was completed on Friday,
and yesterday the new, elegant
lamps were placed in position on
the massive and ornamental
posts, fourteen in number,
erected for them. The approach
to the bridge on each side of
the river is lighted by four
lamps, two on each side, and
near the centre of each
stationary span there is one
lamp. These have each a cluster
of four fine burners. The lamp
frames are about 4 1/2 feet
high, and are fitted at the
sides and top with French plate
glass beveled and polished at
the edges. The side panes are
eighteen inches deep. The swing
span or draw is lighted by two
lamps of the same size, each
having two burners and
reflectors, two sides of the
sloping tops are of blood-red
stained glass, so that when the
draw is opened the red lights
there displayed toward the
Third-avenue and Boston Road
approaches, serve as signals of
danger. It will be thus
perceived that the bridge will,
from this time, be lighted by
fifty-four burners. For the
supply of gas for the swing or
draw span a tank has been
constructed beneath the roadway,
to hold sufficient gas for
twenty-four hours consumption,
so that when the draw is turned
for the passage of vessels, no
interruption is occasioned to
the lights. The gas-tank is
filled from the main pipe, which
feeds the other lamps by a brief
application of a rubber pipe
between the main pipe and the
one leading to the tank. the
only work now to be done, is the
erection of some fifty or sixty
feet of iron railing on the
Westchester side, and affixing a
few brackets to some of the
tubular pieces, which will
probably be deferred until
warmer weather. (5)
* * * *
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