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History of Beck Memorial Church
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR JANUARY 17-23, 2020 55
The village of West Farms had been
growing and when it reached a population
of 300, some members of the Presbyterian
Church thought it was time
to have their own church and minister.
Dr. Gardiner Spring, the pastor of the
Brick Church, and Robert Lenox acting
as advisors met on August 14, 1814. Robert
Given, James Bathgate, Caleb Pell,
Ebenezer Waterbury, John Gillespie
and James Renwick were chosen as the
fi rst trustees and by the following year
construction on a church building began
on 180th Street opposite the current
edifi ce.
Rev. Isaac Lewis was installed as
the fi rst pastor and divided his time between
his existing congregation in New
Rochelle and the new church in West
Farms.
He served for four years and was
replaced by a series of ministers beginning
in 1819 with Rev. Truman Osborne
and all serving pro tem until Rev.
Joseph D. Wickham was offi cially installed
as the second pastor in 1825. He
was succeeded by Rev. George Stebbins
in 1829 and a long line of pastorships ensued.
There were some hard times and the
building was almost foreclosed when
the school teacher, Miss Nancy Leggett,
and her assistant Miss Ann McGregor,
interceded by walking all the way down
to Broome Street in lower Manhattan
to consult with a wise pastor. The pastor
of the Spring Street Church was so
taken with their long walk and humility
that he instantly began to conscript
funds for the West Farms church starting
with his own personal donation.
When Charles Bathgate Beck passed
away on October 11, 1893 his estate was
valued at approximately fi ve million
dollars, most of which was left to worthwhile
charities. He also directed that
$28,000 be given to the First Presbyterian
Church of West Farms of which
he was a trustee. $3,000 was to pay off
their mortgage and $25,000 to be invested
and applied to the future needs of
the church. He also left $100,000 to erect
a new church across the street from
the current building on 180th Street in
memory of his mother, Janet B. Beck.
The new church was built at 980 East
180th Street and dedicated in 1895. The
name of the church was changed from
the First Presbyterian Church of West
Farms to the Beck Memorial Church in
1910.
The fi rst big event at the new church
was the celebration of the centennial
of their founding on May 10, 1914 starting
with a memorial service by Rev.
Dr. Charles Payson Mallery, the pastor
emeritus who served from 1885 to 1907,
and was well-familiar with its history.
He detailed the history of the church
from its beginning to that point in time.
The celebration continued later that
day with talks by Rev. Howard Duffield,
Rev. Dr. David Gourley Wylie, and
Dr. George Alexander representing the
Presbytery of New York. John H. Finley,
the State Commissioner of Education,
was the fi nal speaker of the day
but the celebration continued with spe-
This old photo of Beck Memorial Church also shows the cemetery monuments still in place.
I went by there a couple of weeks ago with Tom Casey and the church is now in a state of
disrepair. It would take quite a bit of work to restore it to its former beauty.
cial speakers each day for the rest of the
week. The church is now in total disrepair
and it would take major renovation
work to restore it to its former beauty.
The support wall for the front steps is
closed off with a wooden barricade and
windows are broken or missing. Even
the wood trim in the upper part of the
church is rotting away. It would be a
great loss to see the grand old structure
demolished. Hopefully some wealthier
church will come to the rescue.
!"
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