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St. Mary's Invites Community to Service of Remembrance on Nov. 4
Those recognized to include Robert Parrott as 130th anniversary of his death nears
The Episcopal Church of St. Mary-in-the-Highlands invites members of the community to its sixth ecumenical Service of Remembrance, commemorating deceased friends and relatives, on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 5pm. This year's service will include special mention of Robert P. Parrrott, innovative West Point Foundry executive and Cold Spring benefactor, who died 130 years ago.
Although specifically intended to note those who passed away in the last year and comfort their families and friends, the event also recognizes others whose memory and contributions endure, regardless of the time that has elapsed since death. The service features prayer, readings, music, photos, and a procession to the altar with lighted candles symbolizing hope, love, and remembrance.
A small reception in the Parish Hall will follow. Church and hall are located at the corner of Route 9D (Chestnut Street- Morris Avenue) and Route 301 (Main Street) in Cold Spring.
Remembrance Day recalls the ages-old Christian observances of All Saints Day, Nov. 1, and All Soul's Day, Nov. 2, commemorating believers who have passed away, whether they're officially recognized as saints or not. It also occurs around Veterans Day, honoring Americans who served in World War I and other conflicts.
As a revered local resident, dedicated soldier, and tireless philanthropist, Parrott epitomizes those recognized.
Born Oct. 5, 1804, in Lee, N. H., he graduated from West Point in 1824. After serving as an instructor and ordnance officer, he left the army to join the West Point Foundry, whose ruins still stand in Cold Spring. His ingenious improvements to rifled-weaponry design led to the Parrott gun, the cannon, credited with helping the Union win the Civil War.
Under his direction, the foundry produced a wide range of industrial, household, and commercial goods, as well as weapons, and along with his entrepreneurship, Parrott was known for his integrity and lack of pretense. He donated the land for the current St. Mary's and its expansive grounds, benefitting not only the church but generations who have played on the Great Lawn, patronized markets under its trees, and assembled there for Halloween parades. Besides the site, he provided substantial financial support, reportedly $100,000, in 19th-Century dollars - eschewing the practice of some wealthy men whose charity began posthumously with bequests in their wills. Emphasizing the power of "money given and work done not after death but during life," the Rev. Isaac Van Winkel, St. Mary's rector, suggested after Parrott's death that "he has given an example worthy of being widely imitated… ."
According to a tribute from a newspaper in Pennsylvania, where Parrott had interests in the Riddlbesburg coal and iron furnace, he also stood out for another reason: refusing to make huge amounts of money on the Civil War.
"During the war, the rule was that everybody should pile up wealth as fast as he could, regardless of business principles or conscientious scruples, particularly so long as the government was the debtor, and history painfully reminds us of the fact that there were few exceptions to the rule," the article stated. But, it adds, Parrott kept prices for the cannon low and, when a friend suggested he charge more and amass a "fabulous" personal fortune, merely "smiled in his quiet way." If it were possible, he explained, he would return to the army himself. Age prevented that, "but in this way I can be of use and I do not intend these guns shall cost the United States any more than is absolutely necessary."
His egalitarian ways similarly left a deep impression, the article pointed out: "In his visits to the Riddlesburg furnaces he took pleasure in mingling with the humble workmen, making himself one of their number, as it were, so much so that his periodical advent was hailed with joy by all the employees, and his sudden and unexpected demise is mourned by them in sincerity."
Parrott succumbed to illness on Christmas Eve in 1877.
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