TOWN OF CORNING. 



265 



In 18G7 the present beautiful church edifice was built, 

 at a cost of $36,000, 



This church, when first organized, was under the juris- 

 diction of the Presbytery of Geneva, afterwards of Bath, 

 then it was transferred to the Presbytery of Chemung, and 

 is now within the bounds of the Presbytery of Steuben. It 

 was organized by Rev. John Niles, of Bath. The first 

 settled pastor was Rev. Clement Hickman, who was installed 

 Aug. 25, 1812, and resigned in 1816. From that time till 

 1821 the church was without a pastor, but was kept alive 

 by a few devoted and faithful Christian women, who main- 

 tained the prayer-meeting and the Sunday-school. Among 

 these were the late Mrs. Wm. Bonham, of Painted Post, 

 and the late Mrs. Ann McCall, of Bath. The superintend- 

 ents of the Sabbath-school were Mrs. Ann McCall and Miss 

 Maria Knox, afterwards the wife of Mr. John McBurney. 

 The successor of Rev. Clement Hickman was Rev. Thomas 

 Lounsbury, whose field of labor embraced several settle- 

 ments, extending from Big Flats to Campbell, and who 

 numbered among his hearers the settlers on Mud Creek. 



The pastors who have served this church from the first 

 are the following: Rev. Clement Hickman, 1812—16 ; Rev. 

 Thomas Lounsbury, 1821-23 ; Rev. Mr. Gilbert, 1823-25; 

 Rev. Reuben Sanborn, 1826-27 ; Rev. David Harrower, 

 1827-29 ; Rev. David Higgins, D.D., 1829-31 ; Rev. John 

 Barton, 1832-35 ; Rev. John Smith, 1835-38 ; Rev. F. 

 W. Graves, 1838 ; Rev. Samuel M. Hopkins, D.D., 1840- 

 42 ; Rev. Joshua B. Graves, 1842-47 ; Rev. Job Pierson, 

 1847-49; Rev. A. L. Brooks, 1849-51 ; Rev. Robert E. 

 Wilson, 1851-55 ; Rev. Darwin Chichester, 1856-59 ; 

 Rev. William A. Niles, D.D., 1859-72; Rev. Anson G. 

 Chester, 1872-75 ; Rev. M. L. P. Hill, 1875-79. 



SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



In the spring of 1845 a second Presbyterian Church was 

 established in Corning. The original members, numbering 

 46, were regularly dismissed from the old church to form 

 the new organization, which was formed by the Presbytery 

 of Chemung, Nov. 20, 1845. Their house of worship was 

 built on the north side of Erie Avenue, corner of Wall 

 Street, and was familiarly known as the Old Tabernacle. 

 Rev. Horatio Pattengill, D.D., was the only pastor. The 

 two churches were united on the 2d of April, 1849. 



CHRIST CHURCH, EPISCOPAL. 



The parish of Christ Church. Corning, was organized on 

 the 2d of April, 1841, by Rev. Richard Smith. Jonathan 

 Fellows was chosen senior warden, and John Miller junior 

 warden, with the following vestrymen : Hiram W. Bostwick, 

 Laurin Mallory, Thomas A. Johnson, Philander J. Mallory, 

 Nelson L. Somers, Jonah Davis, Wm. J. Arnold, and Seely 

 Brownell. 



The Corning Company donated a lot on West Market 

 Street, on which a chapel was built and occupied for wor- 

 ship till the present church was erected in 1854. The 

 edifice occupies a pleasant and desirable site on the corner 

 of Walnut Street and Erie Avenue. It is built of stone 

 in the Norman- Gothic style of architecture, and cost, as at 

 present completed, about $25,000. 



Several influential families outside of Corning are con- 

 34 



nected with the parish. The rectors who have officiated 

 are the following, in the order named : Revs. Richard 

 Smith, M. A. Nickerson, Justice Field, James Eaton, G. 

 M. Skinner, F. J. R. Lightbourn, N. Barrows, E. Z. Lewis, 

 L. D. Ferguson, Lucius Sweetland, Wm. Montgomery, 

 Joseph Hunter, E. S. Wilson, S. R. Fuller. 



Present Wardens. — Nelson L. Somers, Corning ; David 

 Curtis, Painted Post. 



Vestrymen. — A. Houghton, Jr., A. Lathrop, Jr., John 

 Hoare, William Walker, E. C. Maltby, S. B. Wellington, 

 J. B. Maltby, Zerah Todd. 



METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF CORNING. 



The first circuit preacher. Rev. Joseph Pearsall, received 

 his appointment to Painted Post Circuit from the Genesee 

 Conference in 1832. The Corning Circuit, including 

 Caton, was organized in 1839, and Corning became a station 

 in 1847. The Corning class in 1833, and for several years 

 following, held its meetings in the school-house at Little 

 Flats. The first church edifice was erected in 1839. It 

 was located on the south side of First Street, a little east 

 of where the court-house now stands, and was supplied with 

 a bell presented by Mrs. Elrastus Corning. Chandler 

 Wheeler and Thomas S. Davis were the preachers at that 

 time. The trustees were Joseph Gillett, Sr., H. G. Phelps, 

 B. P. Bailey, Jesse Clark, and H. W. Bostwick. Among 

 the members were Jesse Clark, Class-Leader; Eliza Clark, 

 H. G. Phelps, Hannah Phelps, James Lawry, Ann Lawry, 

 Mrs. C. Wheeler, John A. Parcell, Caroline Parcell, R. W. 

 Gladwin, Elizabeth Gladwin, Warren Starkey, Sophia 

 Starkey, David Spencer, Grace Rhodes, B. P. Bailey, 

 Martha Bailey, Rebecca Simpson, and later, Hiram Pritch- 

 ard, Lucinda Pritchard, Mary Lee, Mary Phelps, Adelia 

 Tiffany, Maria Van Deusen, Hannah Rhodes, Charles S. 

 Bailey, Eliza Rich, and Harriet Land. 



The presiding elders were appointed as follows : Manly 

 Tooker, 1832; Benjamin Shepman, 1836; Jonas Dodge, 

 1837 ; J. H. Wallace, 1838 ; Jonas Dodge, 1841 ; Thomas 

 Carlton, 1844; William Hosmer, 1846; Nathan Fellows, 

 1848 ; H. N. Seaver, 1852 ; Porter McKinstry, 1855 ; S. 

 L. Congdon, 1859 ; J. G. Gulick, 1867 ; Thomas Tousey, 

 1874; Luke C. Queal, 1875; E. T.Green, 1877. 



3Iimsters. — Joseph Pearsall, 1832 ; Joseph Chapman, 

 1833 ; William Hosmer and Daniel Fellows, 1835; Mar- 

 shall St. John, 1835-36 ; Noble Palmeter and Ira Brown- 

 son, 1837 ; Chandler Wheeler and Charles S. Davis, 1838 ; 

 Ambrose Abbott, 1839 ; Charles S. Davis, 1840 ; Amos 

 Hard and Charles L. Bowne, 1841 ; Hanford Colborn and 



Trowbridge, 1843 ; J. Y. Mapes, 1843; E. B. Fuller, 



1844 ; E. E. Chambers, 1846 ; T. B. Hudson, 1847 ; John 

 Wiley, 1848; H. N. Seaver, 1849; Jonathan Watts, 

 1850; Theodore McElheney, 1852; David Nutten, 1853; 

 Alpha Wright, 1855 ; A. S. Baker, 1856 ; J. Raines, 

 1858; J. T. Arnold, 1860; Thomas Tousey, 1862; R. 

 Hogeboora, 1863; J. K. Tuttle, 1865; S. L. Congdon, 

 1866-68 ; C. P. Hard, 1868 ; Thomas Stacy, 1871 ; J. P. 

 Farmer, 1873; A. S. Durston (local supply), 1873; A. 

 N. Damon, 1874; G. W. Chandler, 1877; J. V. Benham, 

 1878. 



In the fall of 1860 the subscription for the new church 



