THE TOWN OF CORTLANDT. 



I .3 I 



We return to the history of the parish. Upon the 23d of March, 

 1772, it was resolved by the vestry: — "To go and build Mr. Doty a 

 house — also to agree with Jerediah Frost to get the timber, draw the 

 same, (viz : the boards and other materials which he may want for the 

 said house) to do all the carpenter's and joiner's work, and paint and 

 glaze the same for seventy-five pounds." 



Mr. Doty's incumbency here was short, not continuing over two years. 

 From this place he removed to Schenectady, as appears by the following 

 extract from the abstract of the Ven. Prop. Society for 1773 : — " At the 

 request of the church-wardens and vestry of Schenectady, the Rev. Mr. 

 Doty, a gentleman educated at King's College, New York, and ordained 

 sometime since for St. Peter's, at Peekskill, is appointed to succeed the 

 Rev. Wm. Andrews, -with the former salary." The Society, however, 

 were greatly displeased at his removal, and through their secretary in- 

 formed him, " That the circumstances under which he left his congrega- 

 tion at Peekskill do not raise him in the opinion of the Society, to whom 

 his conduct, in that particular, hath been reported to his disadvantage, and 

 as an act of ingratitude. " a He remained at Schenectady until 1777, when 

 he removed to Canada, being obliged to sell his furniture to obtain the 

 means of transportation. 6 " In 1775, ( sa ys Dr. O'Callaghan) divine ser- 

 vice was suspended in his church, on account of the troubles, and he 

 himself became the object of much harsh treatment. He was taken 

 prisoner twice, and at length deemed it prudent, in the fall of 1777, to 

 apply for liberty to remove to Canada, which he obtained. He there- 

 upon proceeded to Montreal, where he was appointed chaplain to his 

 Majesty's royal regiment of New York. Here he continued until Octo- 

 ber, 1781, when he repaired to England. He returned to Canada 12th 

 of June, 1784, having been appointed missionary at Sorel. Here, for 

 the first four weeks, he performed divine service in the Roman Catholic 

 church, and afterwards in the barracks, where he resided. A place of 

 worship was, however, afterwards erected, and Mr. Doty continued mis- 

 sionary at this place until 1793." "It is with concern, (says the Society) 

 that it has received information that they are deprived of the useful 

 services of this worthy missionary, (Mr. John Doty) by his removal into 

 his native country, to take charge of St. Anne's church, at Brooklyn, on 

 Long Island, in the Province of New York." (abstracts of 1794.) His 

 connection with this church must, however, have been brief; for his 

 name occurs again in 1796, on the Society's list as missionary at Sorel, 



a Copied from the original letter in the possession of the Eev. Wm. Payne, rector of St. 

 George's church, Schenectady. 



6 Fowler's MSS. Biographies of the Clergy, p. 411, 533. 



