Old St. Mark's Fondly Remembered by Parishioners

Front (L to R): Francis Finch, Caroline Clark, Minnie Finch, Catherine Hall Metz, Marian Taylor Gibson; Back: Irene Harder, Maisie Hall, Anna Close Carpenter, May Finch Woodin, Helene Whitehouse Walker, Virginia Fox Patterson, Eleanor Towne Carey, John Close

 Excerpts from an article by Phyllis Cobbs originally printed in the Patent Trader, July 15 1976

"There were memories galore when nine lifelong members of St. Mark's Church met for luncheon recently to renew childhood friendships and record their memories of the old church on St. Mark's Place, opposite Leonard Park, where St. Mark's churchyard is still located. The congregation m oved to the 'new' St. Mark's downtown, opposite Jeff Feigel Square, in 1911 and the old structure was torn down a few years later, although its timbers, donated to the St. Francis AME Zion, lived on in that congregation's former church building on Maple Avenue."

"Mrs. (Helene Whitehouse) Walker's father, Henry J. Whitehouse, was St. Mark's senior warden for 57 years. Her earliest memories were 'fears of being seasick' when the family set out in a closed brougham on winter Sundays for services conducted by the Rev. Henry V. Chamberlaine."

"Efforts to locate the old rectory led (Mr. Hall's) sister, Catherine Hall Metz to recall that the site opposite the old church, where Conte's fishmarket now stands, was the home of a black family named Moseley who had been slaves before the Civil War. 'Mrs. Moseley,' Mrs. Metz remembered, 'taught piano to the Baldwins and others.'"

"Dr. (Egisto Fabri) Chauncey was 'very interested in social issues' at a time when the church was less concerned with such matters than it is today. His concern led eventually to the building of the new St. Mark's in a downtown location so that less affluent parishioners, who did not have horses and carriages, could walk to church."

St. Mark's Lunch: Front (L to R): Cynthia Baldwin Pease, Helene Whitehouse Walker, Mary Wistar O'Connor, Rose Hall, Catherine Hall Metz, Anna Carpenter; Back: The Rev. William C. Heffner, Virginia Patterson, Evelyn Whitehouse Cobb, Jane Nash, William H. Hall. The picture held by Rose Hall is the Rev. Egisto Chauncey.

"Anna Close Carpenter, whose trace of Irish brogue still betrays her family's origin, remembered that she and her elder brother John, who had a fine voice and sang in the old St. Mark's choir, rode to church in Abijah Merritt's stage, which plied between the railroad station and New Castle Corners ... 'The stage met the train and the service was held when the stage got there.'"

"With prompting from Mrs. Taylor, the oldtimers were able to agree that the old St. Mark's had a red carpet inside and that the outside paint was dark yellow, much weathered - there was a dissenting vote for gray. No one could remember what had happened to a bell, given to the old church by General Alexander Hamilton, grandson and namesake of the Revolutionary War statesman, who conducted services there as a lay reader in 1871-2 and again in 1880."

"Other major fixtures in the old church moved with the congregation. Three Tiffany stained glass windows, given by the Cowdin family, were moved with great care without mishap to the Chapel of the Resurrection in the new church as was the old altar. The baptismal font was also moved to the baptistry of the new St. Mark's."

"Going over the tapes, Mrs. Taylor hopes to fill in a 10-year gap resulting from the loss of the church minutes from this period. No one knows for sure what happened to the missing minutes, but one of the guests at the oldtimers' luncheon said, 'you know, I think perhaps we cut them up to make paper dolls in Sunday school.'"

James Smith Hall

Hall monument

I recently found this obituary of James Smith Hall at the historical society:

The village lost one of its oldest landmarks and one of its first pioneers, in the death of Mr. James Smith Hall, which took place at his home in Brooklyn, last Monday, Nov. 25th. He had a stroke of paralysis on Sunday morning about one o'clock, and was found lying unconscious half out of the bed, by his wife, a little while after. He was given proper care, and recovered consciousness until along in the afternoon, and then was unconscious until his death on Monday about noon.

Mr. Hall was in his 87th year, and was the son of James Hall, who lived near where Mr. Aaron W. Sarles's house now stands. He was identified with the early history of the village, having been its first railroad agent in 1847, and in the building now occupied by Mr. B. C. Tompkins as a dwelling. There he also kept a general store, and had the Post Office, when on Dec. 20th, 1850, he was appointed the first Postmaster of the village. In that same building was also held the first religious meeting ever held in the village, for he and his family were devout Methodists, and prayer meetings were frequently held there.

There, also, was established the first school in the village, when Mr. Hall and Mr. David Moger fitted up a room in the building, and hired a teacher to come there and hold school. That was the first establishment of a school in this village.

Mr. Hall married Miss Eliza Ann Fish, a sister of the late M. W. Fish, of New Castle Corners, in 1831, and she survives him, aged 83 years; also, two sons - Rev. Geo. A. Hall, secretary of the New York State Y. M. C. A., and Jonathan Hall, of Brooklyn, and a daughter Mrs. Mary Yeamans. He also leaves three brothers: J. Fletcher Hall; Isaac, New York; and Benjamin, out West.

A noteworthy fact about Mr. Hall's good health and sound constitution is shown by the fact that during all the 64 years of his married life he was never sick in bed for a day, and never had to call in a doctor.

Mr. Hall and his family lived here for a good number of years, and saw the village grow to be quite a thriving busy place. But for a number of years past they have lived in Brooklyn; and for several years his health has been failing and his sight and hearing much impaired.

The following biographical sketch of James Smith Hall was taken from a 1984 report on the cemetery housed at the historical society.

James Smith Hall, son of Jonathan and Elizabeth Hall of the Byram Lake, Sarles Street area in the town of New Castle. He was born July 24, 1810. In 1830 he married Eliza Ann Fish, another well-known Methodist family in the area. Both of their families entertained the first bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this country, Francis Asbury.

Smith Hall, as he was known as [sic], was the first stationmaster in Kisco Depot, the settlement near the depot, after the train came to that area in 1847, the Harlem Division of the New York Central Railroad.

Eliza and Smith Hall held Methodist meetings in their home, continuing in the pattern of their parents in New Castle.

The first school in that area met in his building at the depot. The first general store and post office also found housing there. In 1850 Smith Hall was appointed postmaster.

James Smith Hall and his wife Eliza Fish Hall left this area to live in Brooklyn about 1865. He died November 25, 1895, ae 87 at their Brooklyn residence. Eliza (born September 15, 1813) died July 3, 1902.

The Hall monument, which is in the Methodist section of the cemetery, also commemorates Smith and Eliza's children, Abram V. (1834-1865); Ann Maria (1839-1879), who married John S. Cornell and moved with her parents to Brooklyn; and Mary Elizabeth (1843-1898), who married farmer James Yeamans and remained in New Castle.

Hall monument

1. Jonathan/James? Hall m. Elizabeth
1. James Smith Hall (1810-1895) m. Eliza Ann Fish (1813-1902)
1. Abram V. Hall (1834-1865)
2. Ann Maria Hall (1839-1879) m. Jonathan S. Cornell (1832-)
1. George H. Cornell (1863-)
2. William H. Cornell (1865-)
3. Minnie Cornell (1869-)
3. Mary Elizabeth Hall (1843-1898) m. James Yeamans (1843-)
1. Susan A. Yeamans (1868-)
2. Eliza H. Yeamans (1870-)

31: Nathan C. Avery (update)

Update. Claudia, who saw this post through Facebook, has provided me with the details of Nathan's parents and wife. Thanks, Claudia!

I'm always curious about people who seem to have been buried in the cemetery on their own - that is, seemingly without other relatives in the cemetery. In the case of Ann M. Shamp, my first impression turned out to be mistaken; that is, while Ann was the only person with the surname Shamp in the cemetery, she was actually a Sarles by birth. For obvious reasons, this can't be the case for Nathan C. Avery. There are no other Averys buried in the cemetery. Who was his family?

Nathan died in 1894 at the age of 64. Unfortunately, most of the 1890 census was lost in a fire, so the 1880 census is the last surviving census in which he appears.

1880 US Federal Census

This census provides a possible explanation for Nathan's burial in the cemetery. An unmarried 50-year-old stonecutter, he lived with Edwin A. and Sarah E. Purdy in Manhattan. There are four Purdys buried in the cemetery, although Edwin and Sarah aren't among them, and Purdy is a very common surname in Westchester County. Were the Purdys Nathan's family? Sarah Purdy is the right age to be his sister, although his relation to Edwin Purdy is given as "boarder," not "brother-in-law." Additionally, the census says that Nathan was born in Vermont and Sarah was born in New Hampshire.

Ten years earlier, Nathan had lived in Manhattan with a different family - one that provides him with more connections to the cemetery.

1870 US Federal Census

Haight and Hall are both common names in the cemetery. The Mary S. Haight and Elizabeth Hall listed here are both buried there; the transcription indicates that they were sisters.

But how is Nathan related to any of them?

In the 1860s, Nathan's trail goes cold, and I can't find him again until the 1850 census.

In 1850, we finally find Nathan in his native state, Vermont, in the town of Sherburne. Yet there are no other Averys to be found here either, but some Richardsons, a Rowe, a Hawkins, a Danville, a Goodrich, and a Converse. Nathan worked as a farm laborer.

1850 US Federal Census

Because he would have been ten years old, Nathan wouldn't have appeared in the 1840 census except as a tally mark in the household of his father or whoever else was the head of his household, so I can't find him.

UPDATE
Claudia told me that The Chandler Family: The Descendants of William Chandler and Annis Chandler Who Settled in Roxbury, Mass., 1637 (1883) provides information on Nathan C. Avery's family. She was also able to find the maiden name of Nathan's wife, Libbie, through the New York City marriage records index. It's Haight - are you surprised?

The book gives Nathan's date of birth as November 25, 1829. He was the son of Jeremiah Avery of Sherburne, VT, and Ruth Chandler of Alstead, NH; they married on July 4, 1825. Jeremiah was the son of Nathan Avery, a cooper and farmer.

Nathan C. Avery married Libbie A. Haight on April 28, 1881, in Manhattan. Is this the same woman as Elizabeth Haight, age 17, with whom Nathan was living in 1870? And was this Nathan's first marriage? He would have been 52 at the time. Better late than never, I suppose!

Nathan and Libbie would have appeared together in the 1890 census, but that census was destroyed in a fire. The next time Libbie would appear, she would be a widow in the 1900 census. I didn't find her there, but I did find a Libbie Avery in the 1910 census, living in the Bronx with a family of Walkers. She was 57 at the time, which makes her precisely the right age to be Elizabeth Haight, the daughter of Stephen and Mary Haight, who was 17 in 1870. In the 1910 census, her occupation is given as music teacher.

1910 US Federal Census

The next census in which I find Libbie is the 1930 census, when she was living at the Association for the Relief of Respectable, Aged, and Indigent Females in Manhattan. She was then 77.

1930 US Federal Census

Libbie was still living at the Association in 1940 at the age of 86. It was also known as the Association Residence Nursing Home. The building, constructed in 1883 and designed by Richard Morris Hunt, is still standing and is on the U.S. Register of Historic Places. It's now a youth hostel.

(Source)

Through one of the family trees on Ancestry, I was able to find the name of Nathan C. Avery's sister, Eliza Arabel Avery, who was born in 1823. She married Charles Fisher Lincoln in 1844. In 1850, the couple was living next door to Nathan and Eliza's father Jeremiah and his second wife, Laura, in Sherburne. They had three children, and also housed 14-year-old Charles Avery and 23-ear-old Alonzo Estabrook.

1850 US Federal Census

In 1860, the family had moved to Woodstock, VT, with their six curiously named children.

1860 US Federal Census

They were still there in 1870 with two more children, bringing the total number up to eight.

1870 US Federal Census

By 1880, Charles Fisher Lincoln had died. Eliza Lincoln was the head of a household that included three sons, two daughters, and two grandsons.

1880 US Federal Census

These are the children of Eliza Avery and Charles Lincoln that I have been able to trace:

Newman M. Lincoln was already a farmer of 35 in the 1880 census. He fought with the 6th Vermont Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. He is listed in the 1890 Veterans Census as living in Woodstock, VT. He married his wife Lettie in 1887 and had one child, Gladys. He was working as a carpenter in 1900 and 1910. In 1914, Newman was admitted to a National Home for Disabled Soldiers in Los Angeles, near to the home of his daughter Gladys Mellon, with a number of infirmities. He died in 1915 of nephritis.

Estell W. Lincoln married Sarah Gates in 1878 in Boston. He worked as a machinist. They were living in Los Angeles in 1910 and 1920. They didn't have children.

Arba Nelson Lincoln married Mira Kimball in 1876 and had five children. They lived in Bristol, Massachusetts, and he was a lawyer. You can see his biography from Who's Who in England of 1915 below. He died in 1922.

Who's Who in New England 1915

Mary E. Lincoln married George W. Clark in 1874. In 1880, they were living in Illinois, and in 1900, they were living in Los Angeles.

Loyal Tisdale Lincoln and his wife Emma were married in 1894. She had two children from a previous marriage. They lived in Los Angeles, where Loyal was a mail carrier.

1. Jeremiah Avery (1797-) m. (1) Ruth Chandler (1804-); (2) Laura (1798-)
1. Eliza Arabel Avery (1823-after 1880) m. Charles Fisher Lincoln (1819-1876)
1. Newman M.  Lincoln (1845-1915) m. Lettie (1858-before 1910)
1. Gladys Lincoln (1891-) m. Mellon
2. Estell W. Lincoln (1847-) m. Sarah Gates in 1878
3. Arba Nelson Lincoln (1849-1922) m. Mira Kimball (1850-) in 1876
1. Ernest Avery Lincoln (1883-)
2. Ralph Hayford Lincoln (1885-)
3. Grace Lincoln (1888-)
4. Kenneth Chandler Lincoln (1890-)
5. Carl Kimball Lincoln (1892-1961) m. Jean L. (1887-)
1. Nelson H. Lincoln (1915-)
2. Warner C. Lincoln (1920-2001)
4. Mary E. Lincoln (1852-) m. George W. Clark in 1874
1. William L. Clark (1874-)
2. Dona M. Clark (1886-)
3. Loyal N. Clark (1893-)
5. Loyal Tisdale Lincoln (1857-) m. Emma (1855-) in 1894
6. Julia A. Lincoln (1859-) 
7. Nettie Lincoln (1861-1924)
8. Charles R. Lincoln (1866-) 
2. Nathan C. Avery (1829-1894) m. Libbie Haight (1853-after 1940) in 1881