Brief History of the Brick Church

New York, New York —Est. 1778

The first account we have of Presbyterians in New York City is the combination of several Presbyterian families from England, Scotland, Ireland, France and New England, in the year 1706, who were in the habit of assembling together on the Lord's Day, in a private house, and conducting their religious services without the aid of any Christian minister. The following year they worshiped occasionally in the Dutch Church in Garden street, and in the year 1716 formed themselves into a regular Presbyterian Church, under the stated ministry of Rev. James Anderson, a native of Scotland.

For three years this infant church assembled for public worship in the City Hall, then on the corner of Nassau and Wall streets, and in 1719 they erected the First Presbyterian Church, in Wall street, out of which was formed the Church of the Seceders, in Cedar street, under the pastoral charge of the Rev. Dr. Mason, the elder, and also the Brick Church in Beekman street. The corner-stone of this edifice was laid in the autumn of the year 1776; and on the first of January, 1778, it was opened for public worship, by a discourse from the Rev. Dr. Rodgers, its first pastor. The congregations worshiping in Wall street and in Beekman street remained for a series of years one church, under the same associated pastorate, the same Board of Trustees, and the same bench of Ruling Elders. This identity of interest was preserved during the whole of the Revolutionary War, and down to the year 1809. During the war these two Presbyterian churches were the objects of the special vengeance and indignity of the enemy. The church on Wall street was converted into barracks, and the Brick Church into a hospital; defaced, stripped of their interior, and left in ruins, and the parsonage house burned to the ground. On the return of peace, and while these edifices were being repaired, the congregations statedly worshiped in St. George's and St. Paul's through the unsolicited and generous courtesy of the vestry of Trinity Church.

After having been repaired, at great expense, the Brick Church was reopened in June, 1784, by a discourse from Dr. Rodgers, from the words of the Psalmist, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." The ministers successively associated with Dr. Rodgers, after the conclusion of the war, were, the Rev. James Wilson, from Scotland; the Rev. John McKnight; and the Rev. Samuel Miller. These congregations, in their united capacity, and for many years, established and sustained a large parochial school, in Nassau, between Liberty and Cedar streets, and relinquished their funds, for this object, to the public school directors, on the expressed condition that no child whom they should recommend should be excluded, and that the Bible should be daily read in the schools.

Serious inconveniences were found to attend the arrangement of this collegiate charge, and by an amicable stipulation, in the year 1803, the congregations, till then united, were formed into separate and distinct churches, the Rev. Dr. Rodgers retaining his relations to both, and the Rev. Dr. Miller, the stated pastor of the church in Wall street, Dr. McKnight voluntarily resigning his connection with both churches.

The eldership of Brick Church at this time consisted of men well known, both in civil and ecclesiastical life, and venerable for age and character. They were Abraham Vangelder, John Thompson, William Ogilvie, Benjamin Egbert, Thomas Fraser, John Bingham, John Mills, and Samuel Osgood; to which were added, shortly after the separation of the churches, William Whitlock, Richard Cunningham, Rensselaer Havens, and John Adams. While all these gentlemen were men of worth and influence, the ruling spirit among them and the man eminent for discernment, practical wisdom, ardent piety and vigorous action, was John Mills.

On the 8th of August, 1810, the Rev. Gardiner Spring was ordained by the Presbyery of New York, and installed the pastor of the Brick Church, in which he labored for half a century, with marked acceptableness and great success. Dr. Spring discourse delivered, May 25th, 1856, was the closing sermon in the old Brick Church in Beekman street. The dedication sermon of the New Brick Church on Murray Hill, was preached by Dr. Spring, October 31st, 1858 on the text, 'Ye shall reverence my sanctuary', Lev. xix, 30.

For a short time the Rev. W.J. Hoge was co-pastor with Dr. Spring of the Brick Church, toward the close of his pastorate. After Dr. Spring became Pastor Emeritus he was succeeded in the pulpit by the Rev. W.G.T. Shedd, D.D., LL.D., the Rev. J.O. Murray, D.D., and the Rev. Llewelyn D. Bevan, D.D. The present pastor of the church is the Rev. H.J. Van Dyke, Jr., who has recently been called to this important charge. [1884].