Christ Church of Oyster Bay
Encyclopedia
Christ Church founded in 1705 is an historic Episcopal parish located at 61 East Main Street in Oyster Bay, New York. Several church buildings have occupied this site, including one that served as soldiers barracks during the Revolutionary War
. In the 1870s a Carpenter Gothic
style building was erected. In 1925 it was greatly enlarged and encased in stone. Those additions also included striking stained glass windows. President Theodore Roosevelt
attended church here, and his wife and children were active members. Roosevelt’s funeral service was held here in 1919. Today Christ Church is a featured site on the Oyster Bay History Walk
audio walking tour.
Rectors During the Transition Period
Rectors Since the Reorganization of 1835
Other Recorded Historical Figures
Over 300 years ago the Church of England held services in Oyster Bay, led by missionaries from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. This congregation founded Christ Church in 1705, making it one of the oldest parishes on Long Island.
Services were first held in the "Town-House" in 1702. The town common was the present church property, and the town hall was located about where Christ Church stands today. A second town hall, authorized in 1707, was designed with seating for church purposes, and in 1750 a true church building was erected. Thus the town hall had morphed into a church, and in due time the town gave the common and the building to the congregation.
Then came the American Revolution. After many decades of growth and forward movement, the Church of England in America was stopped in her tracks. Disestablishment to the Anglican Church meant an end to any tax support. The church in Oyster Bay was damaged by Hessians who used the building as barracks, and was such a deteriorated state that it had to be demolished in 1801. The rector of Oyster Bay, Leonard Cutting, was a Tory
and eventually forced to leave the area by patriots.
Thereafter, Oyster Bay was only served by occasional visiting clergy until the 1830s. In short, it took about fifty years for the Anglican congregation in Oyster Bay to recover from the Revolution.
In 1802 the Oyster Bay Academy was established, in the two-story building seen at the end of the drive. Students attended class here until a public school was built in the 1840s on South Street. At that time the old Academy building became the Christ Church rectory.
The congregation had been dormant for over 40 years when they reorganized in 1843. By 1844 they had built their third church building on this site. This was removed to make way for a new building in 1878, portions of which remain visible today. These include the wood trusses in the nave and a small section of pews used by the Theodore Roosevelt
family who worshiped here. Following the death of Theodore Roosevelt, a simple funeral service was held here before he was laid to rest in nearby Youngs Memorial Cemetery
.
A renovation in 1925 encased the wooden 1878 building in stone. Those additions also included striking stained-glass windows, modeled after the Chartres Cathedral in France. One of the finest pipe organs on Long Island was installed in 1986, a beautiful Hellmuth Wolff organ, to complement Christ Church’s extensive music program.
Plaques in memory of many members of the Roosevelt family are mounted on the wall near the old pews, and all around the church are other memorials, dedicated to Christ Church members, many of whose names are familiar as place names in the community, such as Underhill, Fleet, Townsend, Beekman, Weeks and Youngs, to name only a few.
The congregation remained active over the ensuing years. A renovation of the 1802 rectory and addition of a pipe organ to the sanctuary were completed in the 1980s. In the 1990s a renovation of the church interior occurred. A campaign to renovate the Parish Hall came to a completion in 2008 when improvements were made to both the hall, and the area surrounding it.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. In the 1870s a Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic
Carpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
style building was erected. In 1925 it was greatly enlarged and encased in stone. Those additions also included striking stained glass windows. President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
attended church here, and his wife and children were active members. Roosevelt’s funeral service was held here in 1919. Today Christ Church is a featured site on the Oyster Bay History Walk
Oyster Bay History Walk
The Oyster Bay History Walk is a path through downtown Oyster Bay, New York that leads the walker to 30 historic sites. It is a 1 mile loop and is the first certified American Heart Association Start! Walking Path on Long Island.-Origins and Development:...
audio walking tour.
Church buildings on this site
- Built 1707 (ca). Served as town hall and church
- Built 1750, occupied by British and Hessian forces during Revolutionary War, demolished 1801
- Built 1844
- Built 1878, original wood structure with wood trusses still visible inside, enlarged and encased in stone in 1925, stained glass windows added
Rectors of Christ Church
Rectors of Hempstead and Oyster Bay, Sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
1. Reverend John ThomasJohn Thomas-Education:* John Martin Thomas , Twelfth president of Rutgers University* John R. Thomas , American intellectual property professor- Military history :* John Thomas , American general in the American Revolutionary War...
, rector, 1704-1724, inducted at Hempstead on December 26, 1704 (assumed duties in Oyster Bay in 1705)
2. Reverend Robert Jenney, rector, 1726-1742, graduated from the University of Dublin, former chaplain in the Royal Navy
3. Reverend Samuel SeaburySamuel SeaburySamuel Seabury was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He had been a leading Loyalist in New York City during the American Revolution.-History:Samuel Seabury was born in Groton, Connecticut in 1729...
, rector, 1742-1764, originally a Congregationalist minister, later a deacon and priest in the Church of England
4. Reverend Leonard Cutting, rector, 1766-1784, went to Eaton, taught Greek and Latin at King's College, now Columbia University, before entering the priesthood. Forced to leave by patriots because of Tory sympathies.
Rectors During the Transition Period
5. Reverend Andrew Fowler, 1790
6. Reverend John Churchill Rudd, 1805
7. Reverend Edward K. Fowler, 1822-1826
8. Reverend Samuel Seabury, 1826-1827
9. Reverend Joseph F. Phillips, 1832-1835
Rectors Since the Reorganization of 1835
10. Reverend Isaac Sherwood, 1835-1844
11. Reverend Edwin Harwood, 1844-1846
12. Reverend John Stearns, 1846-1849
13. Reverend Edmond Richards, 1849-1851
14. Reverend Joseph Ransom, 1852-1861
15. Reverend Richard Graham Hutton, 1861-1874
16. Reverend Charles W. Ward, 1874-1875
17. Reverend John Byron Murray, 1875-1876
18. Reverend George R. Van De Water, 1876-1880, presided over marriage of Cornelia Townsend Youngs on April 24, 1879 in Oyster Bay
19. Reverend William Montague Geer, 1880-1888
20. Reverend Henry Homer Washburn, 1888-1911,
21. Reverend Dr. George R. Talmage, 1911-1934,
22. Reverend Dr. Harold Pattison, 1934-1940
23. Reverend John N. Warren, 1940-1967
24. Reverend Robert Titus Hollett, 1968-1987
25. Reverend Dr. Bruce D. Griffith, 1987-2002
26. Reverend Peter F. Casparian, 2004-present
Other Recorded Historical Figures
- Reverend Richard G. Hutton, rector, in 1844.
- Reverend Henry De Koven, assistant rector, 1845–1848, from Middletown, Connecticut, a relative of the Rev. James DeKovenJames DeKovenJames DeKoven was a priest, an educator and a leader of the Oxford Movement in the Episcopal Church. DeKoven was born in Middletown, Connecticut and educated at Columbia College. In 1851 he was admitted to General Theological Seminary and was ordained as a deacon in 1854 in Middletown...
, who is listed on March 22 of the Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may... - Foggo, Edward A., rector, in 1876?
History and background
Services were first held in the "Town-House" in 1702. The town common was the present church property, and the town hall was located about where Christ Church stands today. A second town hall, authorized in 1707, was designed with seating for church purposes, and in 1750 a true church building was erected. Thus the town hall had morphed into a church, and in due time the town gave the common and the building to the congregation.
Then came the American Revolution. After many decades of growth and forward movement, the Church of England in America was stopped in her tracks. Disestablishment to the Anglican Church meant an end to any tax support. The church in Oyster Bay was damaged by Hessians who used the building as barracks, and was such a deteriorated state that it had to be demolished in 1801. The rector of Oyster Bay, Leonard Cutting, was a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
and eventually forced to leave the area by patriots.
Thereafter, Oyster Bay was only served by occasional visiting clergy until the 1830s. In short, it took about fifty years for the Anglican congregation in Oyster Bay to recover from the Revolution.
In 1802 the Oyster Bay Academy was established, in the two-story building seen at the end of the drive. Students attended class here until a public school was built in the 1840s on South Street. At that time the old Academy building became the Christ Church rectory.
The congregation had been dormant for over 40 years when they reorganized in 1843. By 1844 they had built their third church building on this site. This was removed to make way for a new building in 1878, portions of which remain visible today. These include the wood trusses in the nave and a small section of pews used by the Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
family who worshiped here. Following the death of Theodore Roosevelt, a simple funeral service was held here before he was laid to rest in nearby Youngs Memorial Cemetery
Youngs Memorial Cemetery
Youngs Memorial Cemetery is a small cemetery near the hamlet of Oyster Bay, New York in the United States of America. It is located approximately one and a half miles south of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site...
.
Plaques in memory of many members of the Roosevelt family are mounted on the wall near the old pews, and all around the church are other memorials, dedicated to Christ Church members, many of whose names are familiar as place names in the community, such as Underhill, Fleet, Townsend, Beekman, Weeks and Youngs, to name only a few.
The congregation remained active over the ensuing years. A renovation of the 1802 rectory and addition of a pipe organ to the sanctuary were completed in the 1980s. In the 1990s a renovation of the church interior occurred. A campaign to renovate the Parish Hall came to a completion in 2008 when improvements were made to both the hall, and the area surrounding it.
See also
- Oyster Bay History WalkOyster Bay History WalkThe Oyster Bay History Walk is a path through downtown Oyster Bay, New York that leads the walker to 30 historic sites. It is a 1 mile loop and is the first certified American Heart Association Start! Walking Path on Long Island.-Origins and Development:...
- Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster BayTheodore Roosevelt in Oyster BayTheodore Roosevelt spent his first summer in Oyster Bay with his family in 1874. Through the ensuing years as he rose to power, Oyster Bay would frequently serve as backdrop and stage on which many of his ambitions were realized. Several places connected to Theodore Roosevelt in his lifetime...
- List of Town of Oyster Bay Landmarks