THE TOWN OF CORTLANDT. 147 



where Mr. John W. Hait now lives, to Captain Requa's, just one 

 hundred buildings of all kinds. At that time the Presbyterians had two 

 places of worship, one on South street, where the first Presbyterian 

 church now stands, the other on the hill north of Main street, to which 

 we have already alluded, but no organization. In May, 1816, a church 

 of seventy-five members was formed, with Mr. Brundage as pastor, and 

 John Lent, deacon, and Ezra Lockwood, as officers; when Mr. Brundage 

 resigned his charge in 181 9, the church numbered over a hundred mem- 

 bers. Some years later the influence of a large congregational element 

 from Connecticut gave great dissatisfaction to some who preferred the 

 faith and government of the Presbyterian church, and in 1826 a division 

 took place. Those who remained were finally merged into the Dutch 

 Reformed Church. Those who withdrew founded the present Presby- 

 terian Society." We give the details of the organization in the words 

 of the first entry that appears upon the record of the session : 



" The Presbyterian church in the town of Peekskill was organized 

 June 25th, in the year of our Lord 1826, by the Rev. Elihu W. Baldwin, 

 of the Presbytery of New York, according to the book of discipline of 

 the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America." It consisted 

 at the time of its organization of sixteen members, viz : Benjamin 

 Illingworth, an Elder of the Presbyterian church in Yorktown, with a 

 letter of dismission from the same; Daniel Merritt, Nancy Conklin, 

 Elizabeth Oakley, Elizabeth Campbell, Ann Conklin, Caroline Strang, 

 Mahala Gilbert, Rebecca Hawes, Maria Jones, Jemima Brown, Sarah 

 Dusenberry, Mary Oakley, Rachel Buskirk, Ann Budd and Susan Shaw, 

 being a succession of members from the Independent Congregational 

 church in Peekskill. Benjamin Illingworth and Daniel Merritt were elect- 

 ed elders." " In October of the same year, the church became connected 

 with the Presbytery of New York, and at the same time extended a call 

 to the Rev. John PI. Leggett, then a member of the Second Presbytery 

 of New York. The call was accepted and Mr. Leggett was installed 

 first pastor of this church on December 14th, 1826. This pastorate 

 continued three years, and was marked by a gradual increase in the 

 number of communicants. Ten were added to the church under his 

 ministry, seven on profession of faith and three by certificate, making a 

 total of twenty-six; which was reduced to twenty-four by the death of one 

 member, and the dismissal of another. Mr. Leggett died on the 31st 

 day of May, 1873. 



In 1829 the Presbytery of Bedford was organized and the church at 

 Peekskill fell under its care, but soon obtained permission to return to 

 the Presbytery of New York. 



