Longevity seemed to be the watchword for Pastor Frank Curtis Williams and his wife Gertrude Ryder-Bennett Williams. Pastor Williams was the head pastor of South Reformed Church, located on the corner of Fourth Avenue and 55th Street in Brooklyn, NY, from the mid-forties until the mid-sixties. He performed the wedding ceremonies for most of the Nelson children who married during that time period. Pastor Williams’ favorite Biblical quote was, “All things work together for good.” His reverential presence always exuded a feeling of great comfort and warmth in any setting.
For all of his ecclesiastical accomplishments over the years, however, Pastor Williams became known more as the husband of an accomplished, published poet, Gertrude Ryder-Bennett, born into an established historic family whose Brooklyn roots preceded the American Revolution. Mrs. Williams published her poetry under her maiden name Gertrude Ryder-Bennett, as noted in this New York Times obituary published July 24, 1982. She lived her entire life at the same historic family home, the Wyckoff-Bennett House near Kings Highway in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. A reprint from Old Dutch Houses of Brooklyn includes an old photograph and much detailed information about the house and its family history.
Mrs. Williams was always a delightful presence. She was tall, thin, and stately, and a smiling conversationalist. In a very endearing way she was lovingly eccentric. Faithful to her husband’s ecumenical duties, Mrs. Williams was always in church every Sunday morning. It was obvious how focused she was on his sermons because she was always absorbed with her eyes closed. She and Pastor Williams invited the youth group to tour their home one day, and I can remember being astonished at discovering it was a mini-farm with lots of trees and a huge fenced lawn smack in the middle of a congested urban setting.
Though we do know that Mrs. Williams passed away July 14, 1982, and that she was survived by Pastor Williams, we have not found out anything further about Pastor Williams beyond that point.
For all of his ecclesiastical accomplishments over the years, however, Pastor Williams became known more as the husband of an accomplished, published poet, Gertrude Ryder-Bennett, born into an established historic family whose Brooklyn roots preceded the American Revolution. Mrs. Williams published her poetry under her maiden name Gertrude Ryder-Bennett, as noted in this New York Times obituary published July 24, 1982. She lived her entire life at the same historic family home, the Wyckoff-Bennett House near Kings Highway in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn. A reprint from Old Dutch Houses of Brooklyn includes an old photograph and much detailed information about the house and its family history.
Mrs. Williams was always a delightful presence. She was tall, thin, and stately, and a smiling conversationalist. In a very endearing way she was lovingly eccentric. Faithful to her husband’s ecumenical duties, Mrs. Williams was always in church every Sunday morning. It was obvious how focused she was on his sermons because she was always absorbed with her eyes closed. She and Pastor Williams invited the youth group to tour their home one day, and I can remember being astonished at discovering it was a mini-farm with lots of trees and a huge fenced lawn smack in the middle of a congested urban setting.
Though we do know that Mrs. Williams passed away July 14, 1982, and that she was survived by Pastor Williams, we have not found out anything further about Pastor Williams beyond that point.
Update. Adina Yonan Van Buren has just recently contributed this gem regarding Pastor Williams:
"When reading about Pastor Williams, I thought that perhaps you would like to know what I discovered during our trip to Brooklyn in l986:
"While in the city, I wanted to go to their home at 1669 E. 22th St. to see if Pastor Williams was still there. No one came to the door, but we saw some neighbors across the street and went over to inquire about the Williams. The neighbors told us that the minister who had lived there had sold the house. I was concerned having recalled that Mrs. Williams had always planned to donate it as a museum to the city. I traced the name of the new owner (Stuart Mont) and wrote him a letter inquiring about the home. I learned that he and his wife had done much to preserve the building as a landmark. A few months after our return home to Illinois from that summer trip, I received a postcard from Pastor Williams. Evidently he had been to visit the Monts who gave him my letter inquiring about him, his wife and the Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead.
"Pastor wrote me that after his wife had died in 1982, he sold the home to the Monts. He also said (in his 1986 note to me) that he had since remarried and that he and his wife were in the process of moving to a retirement home in Connecticut. He mentioned that the Monts were working closely with the Wyckoff Association to preserve the integrity of the home. I was happy to hear from him and to learn that the Homestead was going to withstand the tests of modern times that have eliminated so many old homes in the quest for "progress."
"I have three of the poetry books that Mrs. Williams wrote that include references to the Hessian soldiers staying at their home. Perhaps you recall that each Confirmation Class was invited to their home for a lunch and view of the interior - double Dutch doors and all! Pastor Williams had created a model of the land as it was during the Revolutionary War. Really interesting to imagine what it must have been like. The ancestral portraits adorning the entrance way were museum worthy. I hope all of that is still intact."
Thanks so much, Adina. Indeed, a most valued contribution.
No comments:
Post a Comment