St. George's Episcopal Church is an historic
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
church located at 319 Front Street (
NY 102) in
Hempstead,
New York
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* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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. It was constructed in 1822 and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1973 as St. George's Church.
The Rectory of St. George's Episcopal Church is an historic
rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage.
Function
A clergy house is typically ow ...
located at 217 Peninsula Boulevard in Hempstead. It
was listed on the National Register, in 1988.
History
Founded in 1702, the church was re-erected in 1734 to replace the original. However, its current edifice was built in 1822 following the second church's destruction.
In 1735, it received a charter from
King George II.
During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, Hempstead was a hotbed of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
sympathizers or
Tories
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
, as they were known. The British attempted to occupy Hempstead after the
Battle of Long Island
The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...
and used St. George's as a headquarters as well as a place to worship. Local folklore has it that the
rooster
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
weather vane
A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...
atop the steeple has sixteen bullet marks placed there by Hessian mercenaries who used it for target practice. American troops occupied the church for a period under
Ezekiel Cornell
Ezekiel Cornell (1732/33 – April 25, 1800) was a Revolutionary War general who represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782.
Early life
Ezekiel Cornell was born in on March 27, 1732/33 in either Dartmouth ...
from Rhode Island. Cornell "converted the Episcopal Church into a store house, forbid the parson to pray for the King or any of the Royal Family and made use of the communion table as a convenience for his Yankees to eat upon."
Both the church and its rectory are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Erection (1734)
On April 2, 1734, John Mott and Thomas Gildersleeve, by order of the town, set apart half an acre for a new church, west of the old one. At first, the church was only half pewed; there were eighteen
pews, presumably square. The first pew was given to
George Clarke
George Clarke (7 May 1661 – 22 October 1736), of All Souls, Oxford, was an English architect, print collector and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1702 and 1736.
Life
The son of Sir William Clarke ...
, Secretary to the Governor, who lived in
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
(the modern nearby village of New Hyde Park, which was then called Hyde Park)
and was a benefactor to the church.
On November 1, 1734, at a town meeting, the majority voted to move the seats out of the old church into the new.
Petition to Charter the Church
June 27, 1735, names of petitioners for this charter of the church:
[St. George's Church/Hempstead](_blank)
/ref>
*The Rev. Robert Jenney, Rector.
*James Albertus
*Robert Marvin
*George Balden
*Jacamiah Mitchell
*Gerhardus Clowes, clerk of Vestry
*Joseph Mott
*Charles Peters
*William Cornell, Sr. & Jr.
*James Pine, Sr.
*John Cornell, Jr.
*John Roe
*John Cornell
*Micah Smith
*Richard Cornell, Jr.
*Peter Smith, Jr.
*William Cornell
*Timothy Smith
*Thomas Cornell, Jr.
*Peter Smith
*Isaac Germon
*Jacob Smith
*Thomas Gildersleeve
*Joseph Smith
*George Gildersleeve
*Silas Smith
*Daniel Hewlett
*Robert Sutton
*James Hugins
*Richard Thorne, Esq.
*Joseph Langdon
*Joseph Thorne, Esq.
*William Langdon
*Thomas Williams
*Thomas Lee
Consecration
On Tuesday, April 22, 1735, the Governor, with his wife and family, set out for Hempstead to be present at the consecration of the church. Along with him came: his son-in-law and daughter, the then-Secretary George Clarke, the Chief Justice Delancey, Reverend Vesey, some of the clergy, and a great many of the principal merchants and gentlemen and ladies of the City of New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. About six miles west of Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, the Governor was met by the troops of horse, who escorted him to Jamaica, where dinner was provided for him and all of his company. In the afternoon, he proceeded to Hempstead, (escorted as before), where he arrived in the evening and was entertained by the Reverend Robert Jenney, St. George's minister.
The next day, being St. George's Day, the regiment of militia and troops were drawn up on both sides, from Jenney's house to the church. The Governor, attended by some of the most prominent men in the county, walked to the church. There, a sermon was preached on the occasion, for an extremely crowded audience, by Jenney, from Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
115, verses 1 and 2.
After the service, the Governor reviewed the regiment of militia and troops standing under arms and expressed his satisfaction on the appearance both of the officers and men. The Governor was afterwards entertained by Colonel Tredwell, commander of the regiment. In the evening, he was entertained by Colonel Cornwell, of Rockaway, in the same manner.
:''"The next day the Governor returned to Hempstead, pleased with the reception he everywhere met with from all ranks, with the extraordinary concourse of people from all parts on the occasion, and with the handsome appearance of the militia, both horse and foot."'' --- New York Gazette
A generous collection was made for the church on this occasion:
The Governor gave the King's arms, painted and gilded;
Secretary George Clarke gave a crimson damask set of furniture for the communion table, pulpit and desk;
John Marsh gave a silver basin for baptism.
The Rev. Mr. Vessey and his people had already contributed about £50.
The Current St. George's
The current building contains oak interior columns that were dragged across the Hempstead Plains by horse, then hewn and installed in the sanctuary. They span from ground to roof and show little sign of their great age. More than one of the beautiful stained glass windows was designed by Tiffany Studios
Tiffany may refer to:
People
* Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name
* Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname
Known mononymously as "Tiffany":
* Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress know ...
, and the padded pew boxes hearken to days of old on Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
when the well-to-do would arrive at church in park drag coaches to take their place in the front pew boxes.
See also
* Saint George: Devotions, traditions and prayers
References
External links
Marriage Records of St. George's Episcopal Church
at Long Island Genealogy
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Episcopal Church, Hempstead
Episcopal church buildings in New York (state)
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state)
Hempstead (village), New York
Churches in Nassau County, New York
National Register of Historic Places in Nassau County, New York
Religious organizations established in 1702
Churches completed in 1822