In 1844, the old church having been destroyed by fire, a new one was started in 1847, and the present church completed in 1849. The old rectory having been burned, a new one was built in 1849. The value of the church property is estimated at $13,000. Among the prominent members who have been here for a good many years are, Messrs. Aymar Van Buren, J. Abner Harper, John Harper, F. W. Senff, R. D. Jeffreys, W. C. Gregg, the Misses Morton, Mrs. Leonard F. Nicol and others.
New Windsor Presbyterian.—This church was organized in 1794. It was associated with Newburgh or Bethlehem churches. From 1828 to 1834 the Rev. J. H. Thomas, of the Canterbury Presbyterian Church, served also this church, and from 1834 to 1835 he served this church exclusively. The first building was used by the Continentals as a hospital. This was subsequently destroyed by fire and the present structure was erected in 1807.
M. E. Church at Vail's Gate.—This church celebrated the centennial of its existence in the fall of 1806. the present building having been erected in 1706, and is the oldest church edifice. Its society originated from a union class started by John Ellison in 1789, and was conducted in one of his tenements for a quarter of a century.
Little Britain M. E. Church was erected in 1853 and occupied in 1854, and has been associated with other churches mostly during its existence. Services were held here up to 1885, since which it has remained closed.
Little Britain Presbyterian Church was organized in 1760 as Associated Reformed by Scotch and Irish emigrants. The first edifice was erected in 1765, and rebuilt in 1826. Its first pastor, Robert Annan, was installed in 1768, and served until 1783. Rev. Thomas J. Smith was his successor in 1791, who served until 1812, when Rev. James Schringeour, a Scotchman, was installed, and served until his death in 1825.
CEMETERIES.
The two principal cemeteries in this town are "Calvary," at the junction of Quassaic avenue and the Walsh road, established within the last decade by the Catholics, and "Woodlawn," a half mile further west, which contains about thirty acres and has been in existence about twenty-five years.
In the ancient burying ground connected with the Presbyterian church at the village of New Windsor, are the graves of James Williams and wife, Abigale Brewster; John Yelverton, one of the original settlers, who died in 1767 at the age of 74; Joseph Morrell, one of the heroes of the Revolution. Other early settlers whose names are recorded on tombstones are the Moores, Walshes, Logans, Brewsters and others. In connection with the M. E. Church at Vail's Gate is also another old burial ground. Here are the Mortons, the Stills, the Vails and many others of the forefathers of the hamlet who "rest from their labors and their works do follow them."
James Clinton, the father of DeWitt Clinton, was buried in the family burying ground on the Clinton estate. When the patriotic citizens of Newburgh thought to remove his remains to Woodlawn and erect a monument to his memory, all that could be found was the coffin plate. The following epitaph to the memory of his father was written by his son, DeWitt: "He had filled with fidelity and honor several distinguished civil offices, was an officer of the Revolutionary War, and the war preceding, and at the close of the former was a major general in the army of the United States. He was a good man and a sincere patriot, performing in a most exemplary manner all the duties of life, and he died as he lived, without fear and without reproach."