|
1 Ihe first society within the State for the gratuitous distribu¬
tion of the Scriptures was the N. Y. Bible and Common Prayer
Book Society, formed in 1809. A large number of co. societies
was formed within the next fiv« years. The present society,
formed in 1816, has gradually increased in wealth and influence,
until its operations have extended to almost every section of
the globe. It has a Bible house in New York,—one of the most
extensive publishing houses in the world. Its books are gra¬
tuitously distributed, or sold-at cost; and -the total number of
volumes issued up to May, 1858, was 12,804,014. These are
produced in great varieties of style and in upward of forty
different languages. The society has also published the Bible in
English with raised characters for the blind.
The Baptist and Protestant Episcopal denominations have
separate societies for publishing the Scriptures, although many
members belonging to both of these co-operate with the Ameri¬
can Bible Society.
2 The following table gives the names of these societies, the
date of their organization, and the amount of their donations
and remittances up to May, 1858:—
|
Name. |
Date. |
Donations. |
Remit¬
tances/or
BibUs. |
|
Albany Co..................... |
May, 1816 |
$19,621.00 |
$16,385.20 |
|
Allegany Co.................. |
April, 1825 |
1,526.49 |
3,326.92 |
|
Amity Female............... |
Sept. 1816 |
329.15 |
- 130.85 |
|
Ausable Valley............... |
Dec. 1845 |
370.04 |
804.05 |
|
Brooklyn City................ |
Feb. 1849 |
5,683.76 |
10,054.75 |
|
Uroome Co..................... |
Feb. 1817 |
1,960.01 |
5,171.46 |
|
Buffalo City................... |
Nov. 1847 |
2,339.91 |
5,329.05 |
|
Caledonia...................... |
April, 1818 |
3,366.72 ■ |
111.28 |
|
Caledonia»Female........... |
May, 1817 |
1,673.97 |
. 232.50 |
|
Carlton......................... |
Jan. 1855 |
|
91.53 |
|
Cattaraugus Co.............. |
Aug. 1829 |
127.06 |
1.879.62 |
|
Cavuga Co..................... |
June, 1817
April, 1820 |
3,738.99 |
7,807.61 |
|
Chautauqua Co............... |
1,397.13 |
7,547.60 |
|
Chemung Co.................. |
July, 1828 |
2,949.35 |
3,404.26 |
|
Chenango Co.................. |
Nov. 1826 |
5,538.99 |
6,634.34 |
|
Clinton Co.................... |
April, 1821 |
718.56 |
4,291.26 |
|
Cold Spring................... |
Aug. 1838 |
101.01 |
324.39 |
|
Columbia Co.................. |
Oct. 1817 |
10.835.30 |
6,131.77 |
|
Cortland Co.................. |
Aug. 1816 |
4,320.90 |
5,830.78 |
|
Delaware Co.................. |
July, 1816 |
1,450.75 |
5,341.42 |
|
Dutchess Co. Female....... |
Oct. 1817 |
4,754.87 |
. 3,985.20 |
|
Dutchess Co................... |
Oct. 1839 |
15,930.45 |
5,355.39 |
|
Erie Co.......................... |
April, 1848 |
698.06 |
4,163.76 |
|
Essex Co........................ |
Jan. 1817 |
909.14 |
4,244.35 |
|
Floyd and Western Welsh |
April, 1854 |
50.30 |
81.70 |
|
Franklin Co.,................ |
June, 1821 |
381.95 |
3,385.60 |
|
Fulton & Hamilton Co.... |
Dec. 1816 |
21.182.49 |
11,237.37 |
|
Geneva.......................... |
April, 1846 |
1.117.86 |
2,280.75 |
|
.Genesee Co..................... |
July, 1818 |
3,169.47 |
6,950.40 |
|
Genoa........................... |
April, 1825 |
972.15 |
1,072.20 |
|
Greene Co..................... |
Sept. 1816 |
6,477.23 |
5,746.56 |
|
Greene.......................... |
Mar. 1855 |
25.00 |
175.00 |
|
Herkimer Co.................. |
May, 1817 |
3,268.27 |
4,699.15 |
|
Hudson Female.............; |
Oct. 1816 |
1,970.50 |
805.32 |
|
|
Aug. 1855
Jan. 1817 |
87.00
12,274.47 |
|
Jefferson Co................... |
3,936.37 |
|
Lewis Co....................... |
April, 1828 |
544.51 |
2,997.44 |
|
Lewis Co. Welsh............ |
May, 1850 |
341.66 |
147.65 |
|
Livingston Co................ |
May, 1824 |
6,542.59 |
5,482.53 |
|
Long Island.................. |
Sept. 1817 |
20,786.70 |
30,785.72 |
|
Madison Co.................... |
Oct. 1816 |
5,701.51 |
6,814.87 |
|
Montgomery Co.............. |
Dec. 1816 |
390.00 |
1,345.11 |
|
Monroe Co..................... |
Oct. 1821 |
22.828.47 |
19,282.30 |
|
Newburgh..................... |
Sept. 1818 |
3.784.74 |
3,768.00 |
|
New York Female..........
New York Calvinistic |
June, 1816 |
102,926.12 |
17,369.47 |
|
Welsh....................... |
Sept. 1844 |
546.23 |
72.86 |
|
|
Feb. 1817 |
|
6,043.89
264,911.73 |
|
New York..................... |
Mar. 1829 |
42.091.43 |
|
Niagara Co.................... |
May, 1830 |
2,457.41 |
5,401.51 |
|
North Brooklyn............ |
May, 1816 |
1.726.16 |
1,726.20 |
|
North Seneca................. |
July, 1852 |
582.19 |
767.73 |
|
Nyack Ref. D. Ch. Female |
May, 1842 |
74.80 |
7.20 |
|
Oneida Co,..................... |
Jan. 1817 |
15,226.06 |
20,521.48 |
|
Onondaga Co................. |
April, 1832 |
7,594.00 |
12.805.50 |
|
|
Name. |
Date. |
Donations. |
JRemit¬
tances for
Bibles_. |
|
Ontario Cot.................... |
Mar. |
1817 |
$ 8.405.15 |
$ 4.870.93 |
|
Orange Co..................... |
June
July, |
1816 |
24,141.22 |
6,426.71 |
|
Orleans Co..................... |
1830 |
3.230.82 |
4,058.68 |
|
Oswego Co..................... |
Mar. |
1826 |
2,488.15 |
7,286.94 |
|
Otsego Co...................... |
, une, |
1816 |
3,116.79 |
7,573.77 |
|
Peekskill F’emale............ |
Feb. |
1817- |
713.59 |
166.76 |
|
Poughkeepsie Fern. Union |
Sept. |
1850 |
1,080.81 |
|
|
Putnam Co....................
Remsen Steuben Welsh |
May, |
1828 |
120.00 |
316.16 |
|
and Vicinity............... |
Jan. |
1817 |
3,893.68 |
2.141.06 |
|
Rensselaer Co...........i..... |
June,
July, |
1816 |
35,452.61 |
22.289.21 |
|
Rockland Co..................
Sandy Hill and Fort Ed¬ |
18x6 |
1,985.72 |
2,289.64 |
|
ward.......................... |
Nov. |
1848 |
164.64 |
243.93 |
|
Saratoga Co................... |
July, |
1816 |
12,779.61 |
7,277.96 |
|
Schenectady Co.............. |
May, |
1823 |
2,741.56 |
4.454.40 |
|
Schoharie Co................. |
Jan. |
1817 |
3,934.40 |
3,982.19 |
|
Schuyler Co................... |
Feb. |
1856 |
358.50 |
513.23 |
|
Seneca Associate Ref...... |
May, |
1846 |
319.71 |
16.08 |
|
South Seneca................. |
Feb. |
1846 |
1,735.67 |
1,077.02 |
|
South Steuben............... |
June, |
1848 |
1,267.85 |
1.264.36 |
|
Steuben Co.................... |
Feb. |
1817 |
2,085.38 |
5,201.34 |
|
St. Lawrence Co............. |
April |
1820 |
2,115.40 |
14.193.70 ' |
|
Sullivan Co.................... |
Aug. |
1826 |
2,388.90 |
3.156.15* ‘ |
|
Tioga Co........................ |
June, |
1823 |
4,272;81 |
5,373.82 |
|
Tompkins Co................. |
May, |
1828 |
4,044.04 |
6.249.34 |
|
Ulster Co....................... |
Nov. |
1816 |
XI,145.91 |
2,191.24 |
|
Utica Welsh and Vic...... |
Jan. |
1817 |
4,479 71 |
2.450.12, |
|
W arren Co..................... |
Sept. |
1821 |
194 44 |
2,300.38 |
|
Washington Co............... |
Mar. |
1817 |
19,092.11
3,720.58 |
7,458.51 |
|
Watervliet..................... |
Jan. |
1849 |
2.117.34 |
|
Wayne County............... |
April |
1847 |
3,731,43 |
4,775.31 |
|
Welsh B. S. of Nelson...... |
Sept. |
1856 |
12.00 |
53.35 |
|
Welsh B. S. of Rome......
Welsh B. S. of Holland |
Mar. |
1855 |
228.08 |
132.73 |
|
Patdnt........................ |
May, |
1855 |
184.48 |
77.40 |
|
Westchester Co.............. |
Aug. |
1827 |
19,614.17 |
6.977.71 |
|
Wyoming Co.................. |
Feb. |
1850 |
2,31082 |
4.634.73 . |
|
Yates Co......:................. |
Dec. |
1827 |
4,372.10 |
3,468.60 |
8 This society has a large property vested in a publishing
house and grounds, corner of Nassau and Spruce Streets, New
York, and in the stock, machinery, and materials used in tho
manufacture of books and tracts. Its fiscal affairs are managed
by a finance committee. It lias 31 auxiliaries in tho State of
New York. The receipts up to May, 1858, were $5,356,711.05,—
about three-fifths of which were derived from sales, and the re¬
mainder from donations. Previous to May, 1858, this society
had circulated 13,098,013 volumes, 188,971,408 publications,
4,753,741,573 pages; including 149,761 volumes (9,831 sets) of
the Evangelical Family Library, 94,026 volumes (2,085 sets) of
the Christian Library, 48,638 volumes (1,990 sets) of the Reli
gious or Pastor’s Library, 319.323 volumes (4,557 sets) of the
Youth’s Library, and 160,921 volumes{20,044 sets) of the Youth’s
Scripture Biography. The society publishes an Almanac, the
American Messenger, (in English and German,) and Child’s
Paper, in large editions; and issues books and tracts in the Eng¬
lish, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Welsh,
Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Hungarian languages. It operates
through branch and auxiliary societies, general agents and su¬
perintendents, and paid and volunteer colporteurs. The Ameri¬
can Tract Society of Boston, which formerly co-operated with
this, is now a distinct organization.
Societies of kindred character were formed in the State pre¬
vious to this,—tte more important of which was the New York
Religious Tract Society, formed in 1812, with auxiliaries in vari¬
ous parts of the country.
4 This society has established 27 missions, 121 stations, and
101 out stations in Africa, Greece, Western and Southern Asia,
China, Sandwich Islands, Micronesia, and among the North
American Indian Tribes. It employs 373 missionaries and as¬
sistants, and 524 native pastors and assistants, has 8 printing
presses, and up to 1858 had issued 1,080,481,083 pages of tracts
and religious books. These missions numbered 318 churches,
and 27,740 members; and the educational department embraced |
