premiums had been awarded the corresponding secretary read a
letter from Governor Dewitt Clinton which accompanied a bag of wheat
that had been "raised by Gordon S. Mumford, Esq., on his farm on the
island of New York." While this letter was being read by James Cooper
the bag of wheat was brought to the pulpit of the church, and deposited
at the foot of it.

Within the Presbyterian burying ground, at the rear of the church, lie
the remains of some of the best known of the early settlers. A strange
perversity of fate, however, has singled out for the attention of the
tourist a tombstone that has no other claim to distinction than a
surprising feature of the epitaph. This tallish slab of marble stands
not far from the northeast corner of the burying ground. It is decorated
at the top with the conventionally chiseled outlines of urn and weeping
willow, and bears an inscription in memory of "Mrs. Susannah, the wife
of Mr. Peter Ensign, who died July 18, 1825, aged 54 years," and whose
praises are sung in some verses that begin with this astonishing
comment:

"Lord, she is thin!"

It seems that the stonecutter omitted a final "e" in the last word, and
tried in vain to squeeze it in above the line.

The permanent legal establishment of Christ Church was made on January
1, 1811, when a meeting was held "in the Brick church in Cooperstown,"
and it was resolved "that this church be known hereafter by the name and
title of Christ's Church."

The erection of the brick church had been commenced in 1807, and it was
consecrated in 1810. The present nave, exclusive of the transept and
chancel, is of the original structure. In the sacristy of the church a
wooden model may be seen, made by G. Pomeroy Keese, showing both
exterior and interior of the church as it existed in 1810.

The Methodists held occasional services in the village for many years,
and erected their first church, not far from the site of their present
building, in 1817.

The Universalists were organized in Cooperstown on April 26, 1831, with
the Rev. Job Potter as pastor. On the site of the old Academy, which had
been destroyed by fire, their house of worship was erected in 1833, and
stands practically unchanged at the present time. That there was a
somewhat strong rivalry between the Universalists and the Presbyterians,
whose places of worship stand so near to each other on the same street,
is suggested by an incident which occurred during the Rev. Job Pot