At a special evening meeting on February 16, 1833, of the Pompey and Manlius Church and Society, with Elder Charles Morton as Moderator, the Church resolved to give Elder David Bellamy a call to take pastoral charge of the Church. Five Trustees, i.e., William Fillmore, Sheldon Graves, Moses Eells, Rogers Stilwell and James Sisson, were named a Committee to present the call. They were to state in their communication the probable amount the Church and Society should raise for his support ($350.00 per year.)
David Bellamy was born in 1806, the eldest of four brothers. He decided to go into business as a youth and in 1828 established himself as a merchant in Ellery, a small village in Central New York. He had been raised as a Baptist and although he had no formal Seminary training, he felt the call to join the Baptist Ministry in Ellery. We do not know when or where, but he was ordained. In 1833 he was living in Skaneateles and was a member of the Elbridge Baptist Church.
The Trustees were successful and Elder Bellamy positively answered their call. On June 1, 1833, the Church met with Elder Charles Morton as Moderator. A joint letter of membership was presented by Elder David Bellamy and his wife Eliza from the Elbridge Baptist Church showing their standing as members of that Church. Also stated was Elder Bellamy's character as a member of the clergy with a request to unite with us. The Congregation resolved that the request be granted and the right hand of fellowship was given to Elder and Mrs. Bellamy. Signifying a change in leadership (never was an interim between pastors so short), it was resolved that Elder Bellamy be our standing moderator in place of Elder Morton, resigned.
On June 30, 1833, the Lord's Day, a letter was read to the Congregation asking them to appoint delegates to sit in Council at the Fayetteville Meetinghouse on the third day of July next in the forenoon for the purpose of examining Brother John Taggert and to attend his ordination if the Council should think it expedient. Deacons Elias Stillwell and Hiram Smith and Brethren James Ray, William Fillmore, Moses Eells, James Sisson and Elijah Williams were the appointed Trustee Delegates. (Elder Bellamy was away at this time.) The Pompey and Manlius Church Delegation could not know it, but they were assisting in the examination and ordination of one of the future Elders of their own Church (1869-1873.) Brother J.W. Taggert was a Seminary student at the Hamilton Seminary as Elder Morton had been and supplied the Fayetteville Baptist Church. After completing his studies he was ordained as the third pastor of the Fayetteville Church and remained there until the Spring of 1835.
On August 3, 1833, the Church held a meeting for conference and prayer. The Church voted for a Committee of twelve whose duty would be to visit every member of the Church. They also resolved that the Friday before the next Covenant Meeting be appointed as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, in view of the low estate of Zion, and that we meet on that day at 9 o'clock in the morning.
The Committee appointed on November 3, 1832, to examine the Articles of Faith and Covenant as corrected by Elder Charles Morton and to present them to the Church for their acceptance, was called on to report. Brother James Sisson reported that the Committee had met twice, did not agree, and because they could not, asked for a dismission, which was granted. Another Committee was appointed for the same purpose (Elder David Bellamy, James Sisson, Moses Eells, Elias Stilwell and Hiram Smith.)
On August 31, 1833, the Committee to visit all of the members of the Church reported, as did the Committee appointed to review the Articles of Faith and the Covenant. A decision on the latter was deferred until October 5, 1833. On September 7, 1833, the Church voted to ask a dismission of the Madison Association in order to join the Onondaga Association.
The Church was still hearing at least two sermons in these days. On the Lord's Days of September 15 and 22, 1833, the Church was requested to tarry a few moments after the afternoon preaching or discourses to attend to some business. Between the sessions on September 15, 1833, two new members were baptized and received the right hand of fellowship.
The Church was still busy investigating the sinning of its members. After the afternoon preaching on September 22, 1833, it tarried to hear a report from two Justices of the Peace of Onondaga County concerning the support of an unwed pregnant woman. The father was judged to be a member of the Pompey and Manlius Baptist Church and was ordered by the Judges to pay eighty-eight cents to the overseers of the poor of the Town of Manlius for the support of the child (for as long as the child is supported by the town.) They found the woman to be in indigent circumstances and ordered the father to pay the overseers of the poor $25.00 for the sustenance of the mother, and other expenses at the sum of $5.00, Elija C. Rust and Daniel Gilbert, Justices. When the Church heard the report, the alleged father was excluded from the fellowship of the Church. At the same meeting Elder Bellamy and eight male delegates were chosen to attend the up-coming Onondaga Association Meeting.
On October 5, 1833, the Church met according to appointment and voted on several things of importance. For the first time, attendance at the New York State Baptist Convention was mentioned and Brothers J. Sisson, H. Millard and M. Eells were appointed delegates from Manlius. A letter was received by the Church from the former Pastor Elder Morton, who claimed that the Church owed him money for his last months as Elder. The Church also voted to adopt the new revised version of the Articles of Faith and Covenant and to have them printed.
On November 2, 1833, the Committee appointed to see to the presenting of the Articles and Covenant reported. Their report was filed, and the Committee was told to continue its work and to get the printing done "cheap."
While the Church was still very judgmental when sinning was concerned, it rallied to support families in need. Brother Blow's family had financial problems (unexplained), a Committee reported. (Brother Blow, sometimes written as Bleau, was Church custodian.) The report was accepted and the Church voted to support the family for six months. A subscription paper was circulated, which stated how much money was required, and according to the committee's best judgment what every member ought to pay for the family's support.
On November 30, 1833, at a regular Church Meeting, Elder Morton's claim was presented. A Committee was appointed to investigate and commit all testimony to writing and present it to the next Church Meeting. On December 21, 1833, the report on the claim was accepted. The Clerk tells us that we are to see the next page in the Church minutes for the report, but it is blank and we will not know the amount of or the outcome of his claim.
Elder J. W. Taggert of the Fayetteville Baptist Church also presented a claim against the Church of $8.00 for preaching two Sabbaths ($4.00 per Sabbath.) The Church showed how careful it was in the stewardship of its modest treasure and voted to give him the same that he paid for supplying his own pulpit at the same time which was $6.00 ($3.00 per Sabbath.) At the same meeting the Congregation resolved that every committee appointed by the Church shall make their report to the Church in writing, and every such report shall be recorded in the Church Book to be put on file by the Clerk. This was a good idea but probably not implemented, at least not in the Book of Records available for those years.
The Annual Meeting of the Church and Society was held on December 23, 1833. The members voted to raise by subscription $40.00 to be paid by the first day of February next (1834) to defray the expenses of the Church for wood, candles, and also to cancel a debt for last year's expenses. The Church voted for a meeting on the first Monday in January 1834, at the usual time of 10:30 to have a sermon, and expend, with other Baptist Churches, the rest of the day in fasting and prayer for the ambitious goal of conversion of the WORLD. This became a traditional "New Year" celebration for the Church for several years.
On February 1, 1834, at a regular meeting of the Church in the Conference Room, the Congregation voted to raise $10.00 by subscription for the purpose of defraying the expense of printing 500 copies of the new Articles of Faith and Covenant on writing paper. (Unfortunately, none of the 500 copies have survived.)
In a special meeting on March 18, 1834, the Congregation resolved that the Trustees be authorized to add to the subscription for the support of preaching for the present year, in proportion as already subscribed, enough to make up the deficiency of
said subscription. The Church also voted to have preaching for another year and to raise $350.00 for said purpose by subscription. The Church voted for the Trustees to call Elder Bellamy to preach another year (his second) for $350.00. Elder Bellamy accepted the call.
The Church met again on April 5, 1834, and voted to recommend that the Trustees take suitable measures to buy a house for the Church and Society. On May 3, 1834, in the Baptist Conference Room, the Church resolved that the Trustees be authorized to institute a subscription for the purpose of raising money to purchase a house and lot adjoining Nicholas P. Randall's property (a prominent Manlius lawyer) for the price of $400.00.
On the Lord's Day, June 20, 1834, the Church voted to give a letter of commendation and dismission to Sister Teresa Howard, she being about to leave America for Burmah (Burma) on a mission. Although some of our early pastors served as missionaries in Western New York State, Sister Howard is the first and only foreign missionary from our Church that was mentioned in the minutes.
On Saturday, November 1, 1834, the Church gathered for a Covenant Meeting. After the Brothers and Sisters had spoken it was resolved to appoint a Laboring Committee of six to stand four months for the purpose of looking into the state of the Church. If they should think fit or necessary to commence labours with any Brother or Sister, such matter of discipline should be brought before the Church as they should seem proper. Moses Eells, William Filmore, Elias Stilwell, Jesse Smith, Lauriston Fish and James Sisson were the said Committee.
At a regular Church Meeting on December 6, 1834, Brother Sisson made a statement respecting Brother George Richardson, who had made public statements about Elder Bellamy's preaching, which apparently were not complimentary. His case was referred to the Committee on Discipline. Brother Richardson was eventually forgiven because he later became a Trustee (Dec 8, 1843).
At the Annual Meeting on December 8, 1834, it was "resolved that we pay for the house purchased by Brothers Eells and Smith and direct the Trustees to take a deed in the name of the Church and Society." It was also resolved that the Trustees be authorized to institute a subscription to raise money to repair the house.
A special Church Meeting was called for March 4, 1835, at one o'clock in the afternoon. The Church unanimously voted to have preaching in the coming year commencing in the middle of May, and voted for a Committee (Hiram Smith, Horace Chapman, Lauriston Fish) to circulate a subscription for the purpose of hiring Elder Bellamy for another year. At a subsequent meeting it was resolved to raise $350.00 besides the use of a house for Elder Bellamy for preaching another year. The use of the house made the conditions more favorable and Elder Bellamy assented.
The Church regularly adjusted its rules and regulations, deleting some, changing others, and adding new ones. Except for the five hundred copies of the new Covenant, the additional rules, some of which would later be a part of a constitution, were not published for everyone to read and follow.
The policy for drinking alcohol changed from a resolution adopted on December 31, 1831, that recommended "to every member of the Church to entirely abstain from the use of ardent spirits except as a medicine, in case of body infirmity," to a demand, on April 4, 1835, that stated "we consider the use and traffic in ardent spirits as a drink an immorality; that no one shall be admitted to membership in the Church unless they consent to the above declaration and agree to practice accordingly."
Just as Elder Bellamy was arriving in Manlius, the first steps toward the creation of the Manlius Academy had begun. Azariah Smith and others enthusiastically supported the effort and the State Legislature approved its incorporation on April 13, 1835. Among the members of the first Board of Trustees were "four clergymen of the village, namely Algernon Holister, Castor Smith, David Bellamy and R. Houghton."
On September 5, 1835, Brother Alfred Bellamy, brother of Elder David Bellamy, presented to a Covenant Meeting of the Church a letter of commendation from the Baptist Church in Kingsbury, NY and requested permission to join the Manlius Church. His request was granted.
There were all kinds of stories told in the minutes of Church Meetings about members and their problems, some amusing, some heartbreaking. One unusual humorous story is about a pig that was stolen from a member of the Church by another member on October 5, 1835.
On October 5, 1835, the Church met in the conference room and voted to take up the case of discipline with Brother Schafer charged by Brother Ray with decoying a pig and claiming it as his own. Since all of the participants are called “Brother,” it can be assumed they were all members of the Baptist Church and Society in Manlius and Pompey. Brother Richman owned a pig. Brother Ray wanted to buy a pig. Brother Schafer wanted to sell Brother Ray a pig, but not having one of his own to sell, allegedly stole Brother Richman’s pig and sold it to Brother Ray. Brother Richman became aware of the loss of his pig. Hearing of the Schafer-Ray transaction, he became suspicious and visited Brother Bay’s pig pen, identified his pig and took it home. This particular pig must have had a definite look and/or personality since two other witnesses (Brother Evans and Williams) also identified the pig as Brother Richman’s. Brother Richman stated emphatically to Elder Bellamy, pastor of the Church at the time, that he know the pig as well as he did his own children. Brother Schafer was brought before the Church Meeting and accused of decoying a pig. If Brother Schafer defended himself his defense was not recorded in the minutes. The charge was sustained by the Church and the right hand of fellowship was withdrawn from the now ex-Brother Schafer.
On the first Saturday preceding the first Sabbath in December, 1835, Rufus King Bellamy, a second brother of Elder Bellamy, presented the Church a letter from the Baptist Church in Kingsbury with a request to join us. The request was granted and Rufus King received the right hand of fellowship from his brother Elder David Bellamy. At the same meeting Brother R. K. Bellamy "related the exercises of his mind with regard to preaching the gospel, and requested liberty to improve his gifts before the Church at some future time." The Church voted to hear him preach on Tuesday next at 7 o'clock P.M. Rufus Bellamy was the sixth male member of the Church to be interested in preaching.
On Saturday, February 6, 1836, Brother Colton was noted as having been "exercising" with regard to preaching and the Church appointed Thursday Evening next to hear him. Brother Colton was the seventh of Church Brothers with ambitions to preach the Gospel.
In the Spring of 1836 the minutes of the Church show that the Congregation was involved and interested in Church affairs on a state and national level. The Church was very upset (as were Baptist Churches in general) with a position (not stated) taken by the ruling Board of the American Bible Society. The Church passed a resolution to recommend that Baptist Bible Society and members withhold all donations to the American Bible Society if the Board actions are upheld by the Society as a whole. Elder Bellamy was appointed a delegate to the next ABC Convention in New York City when held.
Also in the Spring of 1836 Elder Bellamy received and accepted the call of the Church to preach the coming year, i.e., 1836-1837, his fourth. Although Treasurers of the Church had existed for some time, on September 3, 1836, the job was expanded with the Treasurer not only keeping records, paying bills, depositing money in a safe place, but acting as a collection agent as well. The new Treasurer's duty was to circulate subscriptions and use his best endeavours to obtain the full amount of every such subscription. For his efforts he was to be paid ten shillings a day, which he had to collect himself by circulating his own petition. Brother Lauriston Fish was the first of the new breed of treasurers. He was released by the Church on October 1, and replaced by Brother Ezra Ketchum.
On December 31, 1836, at a Covenant Meeting Lucy Ann (Clark) Eells, aged 15, (a niece of the Eells who lived with them) related her experience to the Church and was received as a candidate for baptism. Elder Bellamy baptized her at a Covenant Meeting on January 1, 1837. (Lucy Eells would become the second Mrs. Bellamy many years later.)
Reverend Bellamy received a call to preach to the Church May, 1837 to May, 1838 (for his fifth year). This time Elder Bellamy said he was not ready to accept the
call, but if he did he would have to have $550.00 and the use of the house. The Trustees accepted Elder Bellamy's conditions but deducted $50.00 from the $550.00 for the use of the house.
On September 3, 1837, Rufus King Bellamy, brother of Elder Bellamy, was among the group of four appointed to attend the Fall Meeting of the Onondaga Baptist Association. On September 23, 1838, a letter was granted to Brother Rufus King Bellamy. He later became ordained. We know he served as a Baptist minister in Chicopee Falls for 35 years. He had three sons, one of whom was Edward Bellamy, who became well known as the author of American Socialist Utopian Novels in the late 1800s.
In 1837 the Church had its first choir as the members voted on December 3, 1836, to employ Brother Palmer of Fayetteville to teach a singing school one hour a week and for leading the Choir half-time on the Sabbath. The Salary was $12.00 per week. At about the same time the Church recommended that Brother Blow be rehired as Custodian for 1837 "upon the same conditions as they did last year, and pay him in proportion for any additional time he shall spend for the singing school."
On March 24, 1838, at a special meeting the Church voted to sustain preaching for the ensuing year (May 15, 1838 to May 15, 1839). A Committee was appointed to wait on Elder Bellamy and present him with the call. Elder Bellamy this time was not prepared with an answer, but had several conditions that the Church had to meet if he would accept the call:
- He must have all arrears paid.
- He wanted the same salary as in 1836-1837 but paid quarterly.
- Some one must be in charge (a Treasurer) who would be responsible for his salary and pay him when the salary became due.
- He wished the privilege of leaving the Church at any time by giving three months notice.
The Church then voted that a Committee of the Trustees and the Clerk be appointed for the purpose of corresponding with our own Pastor or other ministers of the Gospel for the purpose of procuring a Pastor for the ensuing year. (The name Pastor was taking the place of Elder.) The Church also voted to raise $550.00, payable quarterly, if Elder Bellamy accepts the call, including the house.
On April 4, 1838, a special meeting was held. After some ecclesiastical business was completed, Elder Bellamy stated that he was ready to give his answer to the Committee or to the Church. The Church voted that he should talk to the Church. He said he had made up his mind to stay for the 1838-1839 year, if the Church would comply with the previously stated requisitions and conditions. A Committee was appointed on the spot to confer on the subject. The Committee decided to comply with Elder Bellamy's wishes if the Church raise the salary by assessment or an average on the members. The Church voted to accept and adopt the report of the Committee. Elder Bellamy's services were secure for one more year, his sixth and last.
At a Covenant Meeting on September 1, 1838, a motion was made to rescind the assessment vote passed on April 4, 1838. After much discussion the motion was carried. The procedure finally adopted was to circulate a subscription. Any deficiency then would be raised by an average on the Church members according to their ability to pay.
On October, 1838 at a Church Meeting delegates were appointed to the Fall Onondaga Association Meeting and to the Baptist Convention. The Church resolved that as we shall raise money enough for the Convention this year, that the Convention be asked to constitute our Pastor Elder David Bellamy a Director for life.
Andrew Patch was the eighth man to have expressed an interest in preaching. Andrew Patch was received into Church membership on March 5, 1831, on the basis of a letter from the Baptist Church in Middlefield, N.Y. (Otsego County). His wife Hannah Patch was baptized by Elder Morton. Nothing more was written in the minutes about the Patches until January 3, 1835, when Brother Patch asked for a letter of dismission for himself and Mrs. Patch. Mrs. Patch was given one by vote. Brother Patch was refused a letter. He was not in good standing with the Church, because he had not paid his share of a $50.00 subscription for Elder Bellamy. In addition he was accused of being indiscreet in conversation, of manifesting a sort of jealousy toward some members, and a hardness, all inconsistent with the principles of religion. On March 8, 1835, a letter of confession from Brother Patch was read to the Church. The letter also contained another request for a letter of commendation. On March 15, 1835, the Church voted satisfied with Brother Patch and his letter and voted to give him a letter of dismissal. The Patches returned a second time to Manlius from Middlefield, New York, and the Baptist Church there. They presented a joint letter from the Middlefield Baptist Church and were accepted again as members in the Pompey and Manlius Church on April 15, 1837. Brother Patch now harbored ambitions for preaching and applied to the Church for a License to preach the Gospel. The subject was taken up at a regular meeting of the Church on February 2, 1838. After considerable conversation on the subject, the Brethren present voted seven, yes and two, no, to give Brother Patch a License. There was no information given on Brother Patch's future as a Licentiate.
In July, 1840, The Manlius Church received a communication from the Baptist Church in Ithaca. It stated that Elder and Mrs. Bellamy had united with them on receiving a letter from this Church. Elder Bellamy was widely known in Baptist Circles around the state as he served as the Clerk of the Baptist Missionary Convention of the State of New York (while Pastor at Manlius) in 1835 and 1836. He received an Honorary Degree from the Hamilton Seminary (Madison University) in 1849. His name is found in connection with the Hope Chapel Baptist Church in New York City and the Baptist Church in Clyde, New York. In 1852 Eliza Bellamy died. In 1854 Elder Bellamy married Lucy Ann Clark Eells, the same Lucy Eells he baptized on January 1, 1837, seventeen years previously. She was fourteen years younger than Elder Bellamy, who was now 48 years old. Elder Bellamy went to preach for a Baptist Church in Mount Morris, New York, where his only child, a son Francis, was born in 1855. In 1859 Elder Bellamy accepted a call to the First Baptist Church in Rome, New York. He died there in 1864 at the age of 58. According to Dr. John W. Baer in his book The Pledge of Allegiance: a Centennial History 1892-1992, he was for the Union in the Civil War (not surprising for a Northerner) and forecasted its victory on the basis of its superior manpower, manufacturing power, the economic interest of foreign nations and the spirit of the North. His son Francis was also an ordained Baptist Minister. He entered the Rochester Theological Seminary in 1876, graduated in 1880, and began his ministry in he Baptist Church of Little Falls, New York. He later won a lasting claim to fame by authoring the Pledge of Allegiance.
In the Spring of 1839 negotiations for Elder Bellamy's seventh year in the Pompey and Manlius Church should have been underway. However, at a special meeting of the Church and Society on April 9, 1839, Elder Bellamy prayed, after which he stated that on account of his health he thought it best for him not to engage for the ensuing year and that he should not consider himself a candidate for the pastoral care of the Church the ensuing year. The meeting voted to sustain preaching for the and appointed a Committee for the purpose of corresponding with the Ministers of the Gospel in the area for the purpose of procuring some one to preach to us another year. The committee members were: Brothers Moses Eells, Lauriston Fish, and James Sisson.
