THE
CHURCH OF THE THOUSAND ISLANDS
after Growth of a Century by John A. Haddock, 1895. Transcribed by Holice Youngs
A Reformed Protestant Dutch church was organized at Alexandria Bay under the following circumstances. In the summer of 1846, the Rev. George W. Bethune, D. D., of Brooklyn, having occasion to spend a few days at the place, and learning that among a scattered population of 2000, on the island and main land, there was no place of worship, and few religious opportunities, except one service a month by a Methodist circuit preacher, formed he plan of organizing a church here. He called the inhabitants together and preached to them on the Sabbath, and at the close of the service he suggested to them he establishment of a Sabbath-school, promising them a supply of books for the purpose. The suggestion was complied with, a school opened, 40 to 50 scholars gathered into it, and it was kept up about a year. In 1847, Rev. Jerome A. Davenport was induced by Dr. Bethune to visit the place as a missionary, being partially supported by a few friends of the mission, until, in 1850, the care was assumed by the Board of domestic Missions of that denomination. In the fall of 1817, Mr. Davenport raised $1275 in New York, Brooklyn, and adjacent places, and $275 from residents of the Bay. He remained three years, a considerable time abroad, soliciting aid, and in the fall of 1848 the erection of a church edifice was begun, and on the 25th of May, 1851, it was opened for worship.
For a picture of the church, click here. It is of stone, 35 by 55 feet, and has a truncated tower 60 feet high. It has a seating capacity for from 350 to 400 persons, and cost $2822, besides $170 for a bell. On the 1st of August, 1851, the church was regularly formed, Rev. Charles Wiley, D. D., being present as a committee representing the classis of Cayuga. It consisted of 13 members. Alva Ford and James Woodsworth were appointed elders and deacons, and the organization was named "The Church of the Thousand Islands." The sites for both the church and parsonage were donated by the heirs of Depau, and in 1852 a parsonage was erected at a cost of $800.August 1, 1850, Rev. Anson De Bois was called to the pastorate of the church and remained until May, 1854. He was succeeded in July of the same year by Rev. George Rockwell, who, after a faithful ministry of twenty-three years, was obliged to resign on account of extreme deafness. His successor was Rev. henry D. Vriese, Jr., the present incumbent, who assumed the pastoral duties over the church in July, 1877. The present elders are Francis Thomson and David Woodsworth; Deacons, Williams Woodsworth and Isaac Everson. The membership of the church is 52; teachers and scholars in the Sunday-school, 66; Superintendent, Rev. Henry De Vries, the pastor. The present condition of the church is flourishing.
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