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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 
 Presented by~V''r<£y5\C\ar-\V \^<:\W 
 
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 BX 9211 .087^73 1901 
 -Itil: '^^"''^^ Francis, 185, 
 
 First Presbyterian Church 
 Cranford._ij.j. 
 
REV. C.l^ORGK FRANCIS GREENK 
 
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 OF 
 
 CRANFORD, N. J, 
 
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ITS FIRST 
 HALF CENTURY 
 
 George Francis Greene 
 
 MiJiister of the C/iiirch 
 •^ 4* -^ 
 
 Issued in Connection ivtt/t the Celebration of the Church's 
 
 Semi-Cent e7iai-yy June Q-12, iqoi, by Request of the 
 
 Session and the Board of Trustees 
 
 4. ^ 4. 
 
 RAHWAY, N. J. 
 
 THE MERSHON COMPANY 
 publishers 
 
THE MERSHON COMPANY PRESS, 
 RAHWAY, N. J. 
 
THE AUTHOR AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATES THIS 
 
 BOOK TO THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH 
 
 IN WHICH HE MINISTERS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. The First Eighteen Years, . . . . i 
 
 II. 1S69 TO 1893, 17 
 
 III. The New Church, .... • • 21 
 
 IV. Societies and Organizations, ... 27 
 V. Beneficence, 32 
 
 VI. Revivals, 3^ 
 
 VII. Faithful unto Death 40 
 
 VIII. The Jubilee, 45 
 
 IX. The Future, 53 
 
 Appendix I. List of Elders, etc., . . • 57 
 Appendix II. List of Deacons, etc., . . .58 
 
 Appendix III. List of Trustees, etc., ... 59 
 Appendix IV. Membership Roll in 1901, . . .60 
 Appendix V. The Twentieth Century Presby- 
 terian Church, . . . .66 
 Appendix VI. The Suburban Church, ... 73 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Fro7itispiece : Rev. George Francis Greene. 
 The Second Edifice in 1876, . . Facing page 14 
 
 The Church in 1901, .... 
 Church's Interior in Jubilee Week, . 
 Rev. William H. Roberts, D. D., LL. D., 
 
 Rev. James F. Riggs, D. D 
 
 Pastor and Session, .... 
 
 The Board of Trustees, 
 
 Primary Class of Sunday School, 1901, 
 
 20 
 
 2% 
 36 
 50 
 56 
 5S 
 72 
 
ANNIVERSARY HYMN. 
 
 1. Our fervent thanks to Thee, O Lord, 
 We give this day, with one accord — 
 In joyous psalm our voice we raise, 
 In faith and love to sing Thy praise. 
 
 2. Thine is the thought beneath each plan 
 To make Thy Message known to man. 
 With Thee is all true work begun; 
 From Thee the crown for vict'ries won. 
 
 3. They better build than they can know 
 Who build for Christ, and fear no foe; 
 Bethels they shape that shall endure, 
 Whose faith is firm, whose hope is sure. 
 
 4. Their thought with each new age revives— 
 They vanish, but their work survives; 
 While stones once mute tell of their worth 
 To children of a later birth. 
 
 5. Most gracious, great, and holy God, 
 Lead us in paths our fathers trod; 
 Help us to build on that great Stone 
 They set— true Corner, Christ alone ! 
 
 6. On this our Zion's natal day 
 
 Pour out Thy Spirit, Lord, w^e pray. 
 And Thine be glory, and the power,— 
 Thou Three-in-One,— in this glad hour. 
 
HISTORY OF THE 
 
 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 THE FIRST EIGHTEEN YEARS. 
 
 Not in pulling down, but in building up, does man find 
 pure joy. — Goethe. 
 
 In 185 1 Cranford — then known as Craneville — 
 was a tiny hamlet, and the space now covered with 
 pretty suburban villas was principally marked by 
 groves, meadows, and orchards. The river with its 
 crooked course, and the old mill near the present 
 Union Avenue, gave picturesqueness to the local- 
 ity, but probably few of the residents of that day 
 dreamed of the changes that the following half- 
 century was to witness. Those whose memories ex- 
 tended backward a few years were able to recall 
 the time when the stagecoach or farmer's wagon 
 was the only means of visiting the adjacent cities. 
 The railroad was a recent feature, and the day of 
 giant locomotives and hourly trains to the me- 
 tropolis had not dawned. Travelers to New York 
 were required to take a ferry at Elizabethport, the 
 
12 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 eastern terminus of the road, for their destination. 
 The place was strictly a rural community. 
 
 But our chief concern is in the origin of the 
 Presbyterian Church of the town, and the sources 
 of that event of fifty years ago are to be traced 
 through a period prior to that date. There are 
 those still living who remember the old school- 
 house which stood for many years on the corner 
 of the present Union Avenue and the old Westfield 
 Road — not far from the present residence of Mr. 
 John C. Denman. For more than a century a 
 schoolhouse stood on that spot. The late Mrs. 
 John E. Matthews of Newark, who was born in 
 the Denman homestead, but a stone's throw away 
 from the site, possessed records showing that a 
 schoolhouse stood there prior to the Revolution. 
 This ancient building was succeeded by a second, 
 and that in turn by a third, all on the same corner; 
 and in all of them religious services were held from 
 time to time on the Sabbath. Once the eccentric 
 though renowned Methodist itinerant, Lorenzo 
 Dow, — it was about 1820, — passed through the 
 place and preached in the schoolhouse. But the 
 schoolhouse with which we are concerned was the 
 third and last of the series we have mentioned. In 
 that little building our Church had its birth. 
 There, from 1832 until 1851, a Sunday School met 
 weekly; its principal superintendents during that 
 period being in succession Andrew H. Clark, Isaac 
 Miller, Josiah Crane, Patrick Clark, Isaac H. Pier- 
 son, and S. W. Thompson. Occasionally on the 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 13 
 
 Sabbath a preaching service would be held in con- 
 nection with the Sabbath School, conducted by the 
 pastor of some neighboring church. 
 
 On the 24th of January, 1850, an agreement was 
 entered into by fifty persons, under the leadership 
 of Josiah Crane, to build a house of public worship 
 in Craneville, various sums of money being 
 pledged for the work. A public meeting followed, 
 July 6, 1850, at the house of John C. Denman, at 
 which nine persons were present; John C. Denman 
 in the chair, and John E. Matthews secretary. A 
 second meeting occurred in the schoolhouse, 
 July 13 following, when a building committee of 
 the following members was appointed: David 
 Miller, John G. Crane, Jacob Miller, Jr., Josiah 
 Crane, and S. W. Thompson. The work of build- 
 ing was prosecuted with promptness and energy, 
 and on March 3, 185 1, the little congregation met 
 for the first time in the new church. Though the 
 seating capacity of the new building was not over 
 eighty or one hundred, there was doubtless great 
 pride felt in it by the builders. The comfort and 
 joy of the birds do not depend always upon the 
 size of their nest! 
 
 While the dedication of the first church edifxce 
 took place a few months earlier, the Church was 
 not completely organized until June 26, 185 1. With 
 strict accuracy that was the birthday of the First 
 Presbyterian Church of Cranford. The original 
 title of the Church was " The First Presbyterian 
 Church of Craneville, Essex County, N. J." After 
 
14 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the name of the village was changed to Cranford, 
 in 1869, the Church assumed its present title. On 
 the day mentioned, at 10.30 a. m., the first meet- 
 ing of the Session of the new church was held, the 
 Rev. Samuel H. Coxe, D. D., then pastor of the 
 First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, being 
 moderator, on invitation. The organization of the 
 Church was then effected, under the direction of a 
 commission of the Presbytery of Brooklyn (" New 
 School "), consisting of the Rev. Samuel T. Spear, 
 chairman; Rev. S. H. Coxe, D. D.; and Messrs. 
 Nathan Lane and A. B. Conger. The follow- 
 ing were elected ruling elders: Samuel W. Thomp- 
 son, Josiah Crane, and William Crane. John G. 
 Crane and David Miller were elected deacons. 
 These were elected trustees: John Miller, president; 
 Josiah Crane, Jr., secretary; David Miller, Jr.; John 
 Dunham, John G. Crane, Jacob Miller, Jr., and 
 Moses T. Crane. The following twenty-two per- 
 sons composed the membership of the new Church, 
 all received by letter from the Presbyterian Church 
 of Westfield: Mr. ard Mrs. Samuel W. Thompson, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Crane, Mr. and Mrs. William 
 Crane, Air. and Mrs. Josiah Crane, Jr.; Mr. and 
 Mrs. John G. Crane, Mr. and Mrs. David Miller, 
 Mrs. G. Baker, Mrs. John R. Miller, Miss Arianna 
 Thompson, Miss Sophia C. Thompson, John 
 Miller, Simeon Frazee, Mrs. Francis Pease, Charles 
 Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Otis WoodrufT. Of these 
 original members not one is now connected with 
 the Church. 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 15 
 
 The modest little church edifice dedicated in the 
 spring of 1851 stood in the center of what is now 
 Alden Street, midway between Union Avenue and 
 North Avenue. It was occupied for church serv- 
 ices and Sunday School from 1851 until the erec- 
 tion of the second edifice, in 1868. Subsequently 
 the original building was moved to the rear of the 
 second edifice, where it continued to be used as 
 a chapel. Later two wings were added to it. It 
 was replaced by the new chapel in 1888. A relic 
 of this original building — and it is about the only 
 part of it that has survived several enlargements 
 and repairs — is the window that adjoins the north 
 entrance to the chapel. 
 
 The first step toward the building of the second 
 house of worship was the adoption of a resolution 
 by the Session, in favor of a new church, January 
 12, 1867. The land for the beautiful site on which 
 our church is happily located was purchased in 
 1868 from John Grant Crane. On the 17th of Au- 
 gust of that year the corner stone of the new build- 
 ing was laid with appropriate ceremonies. The 
 service of dedication was held in the church. May 
 25, 1869, the sermon of the occasion being 
 preached by the Rev. James P. Wilson, D. D., of 
 Newark. The cost of the building, exclusive of 
 the organ, was about $13,000. The organ was paid 
 for by private subscriptions secured through the en- 
 terprise of our fellow-townsman, Mr. Alden B. 
 Bigelow. It was built in the spring of 1869 ^^ a 
 cost of about $1600, and was first used at the dedi- 
 
1 6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 cation of the church. The bell was a gift of Josiah 
 Crane. Its cost was $576. It was first placed in a 
 bell-tower built for the purpose, on the southeast 
 side of the old church grounds, in 1868. The fol- 
 lowing year it was placed in the tower of the 
 church. It now hangs in the church-spire of the 
 third edifice, and it has thus served to remind the 
 community of the hour of worship for thirty-three 
 years. 
 
 These were the pastors or stated supplies of the 
 Church from 185 1 to 1868, in the order of their 
 settlement: A, H. Lilly, Thomas S. Brittan, Wil- 
 liam R. Durnett, William Whittaker, Hollis Read, 
 Samuel Murdock, A. H. Sloat. 
 
 The first manse of the Church was built in 1859, 
 at a cost of about $2000. It was situated directly 
 east of the first church edifice. It was afterward 
 sold; and the present manse was built in 187 1, at a 
 cost of $4600. 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 17 
 
 11. 
 
 1869 TO 1893. 
 
 I sigh not over vanished years, 
 But watch the years that hasten by. 
 Look, how they come ! 
 
 — Bryant. 
 
 The history of the Church, from the date of the 
 dedication of the second house of worship until 
 that of the demoHtion of that building to give place 
 to the present structure, must be sketched briefly. 
 During this period the town gradually came to as- 
 sume the aspect of a suburban community. As the 
 surrounding population increased the Church 
 steadily grew in strength and importance. The 
 builders of 1869 could hardly have dreamed that in 
 less than a quarter of a century the congregation 
 would outgrow the church home they were pro- 
 viding. 
 
 In 1869 a debt of about $7500 rested upon the 
 Church. The indebtedness was gradually re- 
 duced until it stood at about $1900 in 1888. In 
 that year it was increased to $4400 by the erection 
 of a new chapel. On the morning of Sunday, 
 February 9. 1890, the entire amount of the debt 
 was subscribed by the congregation; and one vear 
 later, for the first time in the Church's history, the 
 
1 8 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 congregation was entirely out of debt. That Sab- 
 bath morning in February, 1890, was a day long 
 to be remembered by all who were present, and 
 who contributed to the joy it brought to the 
 Church. It marked a step forward in the Church's 
 temporal and spiritual growth. And although a 
 new burden of debt was soon afterward assumed, 
 the inspiration of that day was destined to be in- 
 valuable. It made our new church possible. It 
 taught the congregation the art of debt-paying. It 
 gave our membership self-respect, self-reliance, and 
 courage. 
 
 It has been remarked that the first edifice began 
 to be used solely as a chapel on the completion of 
 the second edifice in 1869. I^ i^?^ it was removed 
 to the rear of the church. In 1873 it was enlarged. 
 In 1888, to meet the growing demands of the Sun- 
 day School and Church a new chapel was built upon 
 the site of the old, at a cost of $2700. It was dedi- 
 cated January 27, 1889. Strictly speaking this was 
 an enlargement of the old chapel, though in the 
 process only a small portion of the old building was 
 left to be incorporated in the new. To complete 
 the history of our chapel it is to be noted that at 
 a cost of about $2000 it was again enlarged in the 
 autumn of 1894, and its facade conformed to the 
 architecture of the new church. 
 
 At the beginning of the period we are consider- 
 ing Rev. A. A. MacConnell was the pastor of the 
 Church — a minister who is remembered by a num- 
 ber of our present members as an efficient and con- 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 19 
 
 secrated spiritual leader. He was summoned to 
 his heavenly reward while still a young man, in 
 1873. He was succeeded in the pastorate by the 
 Rev. William Henry Roberts, a clergyman of large 
 gifts of scholarship and of unusual eloquence. 
 Dr. Roberts, since his pastorate in our Church, has 
 occupied highly important places in the gift of the 
 denomination. For several years he was a pro- 
 fessor in Lane Theological Seminary, and he has 
 been for a number of years the Stated Clerk of the 
 General Assembly. From 1878 until 1884 the Rev. 
 James F. Riggs was pastor — another exceedingly 
 able minister. For several years he was a pro- 
 fessor in the theological seminary of the Reformed 
 Church, at New Brunswick; and 'he is now pastor 
 of the Brick Presbyterian Church, of East Orange, 
 N. J. Dr. Riggs is regarded by those qualified to 
 judge as a brilliant scholar as well as a forceful 
 preacher. The present pastor was installed in 1885. 
 It has been stated that the Church was founded 
 by the Presbytery of Brooklyn. It was founded 
 as a " New School " church. The members of the 
 comm.ission of Presbytery which organized the 
 Church were all distinguished " New School " 
 leaders. The " New School " movement can hardly 
 be thought of apart from such names as Dr. Coxe 
 and Dr. Spear. The Synod of New Jersey, in ses- 
 sion at Orange, transferred the Church from the 
 bounds of the Presbytery of Brooklyn to the Pres- 
 bytery of Newark, October 17, 1865. When the 
 " Re-union " occurred, in 1870, the Church nat- 
 
20 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 urally became connected with the Presbytery of 
 EHzabeth. Probably there are many of the younger 
 generation who would find it difficult to explain 
 the precise difference between " Old School " and 
 " New School " Presbyterians; but it is noteworthy 
 that these two branches of the denomination were 
 merged together during this second period of the 
 life of our own congregation. 
 
 The Church had grown until it had a member- 
 ship of about 240, and it had come to hope for 
 and expect large things under Divine guidance 
 when, in 1893, the sentiment of the congregation 
 began to demand a new house of worship. 
 

 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 21 
 
 III. 
 
 THE NEW CHURCH. 
 
 Old houses mended, 
 Cost little less than new before they're ended. 
 
 — Col ley Cibber. 
 
 As early as in the spring of 1892 it became evi- 
 dent that soon thereafter larger quarters for the 
 congregation would be demanded. Not only was 
 the house of worship too small to meet the further 
 growth that was looked for, but it also began to 
 be felt that the severe plainness of the building was 
 out of keeping with the outward attractiveness of 
 the town. At first a difference of opinion existed 
 as to whether the desired result was to be looked 
 for in an enlargement of the existing building, or 
 in an entirely new structure. Practicahy all were 
 agreed as to the main question of the need of more 
 space. Soon it was determined that a large ma- 
 jority were in favor of a new building. The argu- 
 ment about " a new patch on an old garment " 
 proved to be conclusive. 
 
 On Sunday, March 20, 1892, the pastor at the 
 morning service addressed the congregation on the 
 subject, " Our Proposed New Church." His re- 
 marks on that occasion may indicate the general 
 feeling concerning the project at that juncture. 
 
22 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 His words, in part, were as follows: '' It is plain 
 to everybody that if our town continues to grow, 
 and if our Church continues to be blessed, we shall 
 very soon need a considerable increase in the num- 
 ber of our pews. Our seating capacity is now 
 about 300, and it ought to be 550. So near at hand 
 does this demand for enlargement appear that, as 
 wise people, we must at once look the question 
 squarely in the face. For six years our Church has 
 had a steady and healthful, though not particu- 
 larly rapid, growth. It has had a growth like 
 that of the oak rather than that of the mushroom. 
 Six years ago the Church had nominally 125 
 members. At our last communion our mem- 
 bership was 226, and over 200 of these are 
 active members. So you see the membership of 
 the Church has more than doubled in six years. 
 Plainly, if we are to do our duty to the Church, 
 the community, and the cause of the Master, we 
 shall be obliged certainly within the next two or 
 three years to provide more room for those who 
 desire to worship with us. The trustees of the 
 Church fully appreciate these facts, and will in due 
 time propose to the congregation a plan involving 
 the proper consideration of the entire question and 
 the orderly beginning of efforts looking to the pro- 
 posed end. If the trustees shall nominate, and the 
 congregation appoint, a building committee to 
 whom the entire matter of an enlargement of the 
 Church IS referre-d, it will be for that committee to 
 propose when the work shall commence, what 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 23 
 
 its extent shall be, what its expense shall amount 
 to, and how the necessary funds shall be 
 provided." 
 
 For about a year thereafter the question was dis- 
 cussed and thought about in all its phases until 
 March 10, 1893, when a special meeting of the con- 
 gregation was held at which it was voted to pro- 
 ceed to build a new church, provided subscriptions 
 for at least $10,000 could be secured. 
 
 On Sunday morning, April 9, after an historical 
 sermon by the pastor, the congregation responded 
 liberally to the call for funds for the new enterprise; 
 in a few minutes subscribing the amount of 
 $14,200. Thereupon the work of building pro- 
 ceeded rapidly. The building committee consisted 
 of Messrs. P. D. \'an Saun, president of the board 
 of trustees ; George G. Ely, treasurer of the Church ; 
 and Robert Rindell. Mr. Charles G. Jones of New 
 York was selected as architect, and the building 
 contract was awarded to Mr. Diedrich Kreie of 
 Cranford. On Monday, July 3, the demolition of 
 the old church was begun. The corner stone of 
 the new edifice was laid with impressive ceremony, 
 Saturday afternoon, September 16. And on the 
 evening of Tuesday, June 19, 1894, the beautiful 
 new building with all its furnishings was solemnly 
 dedicated to the worship of God. The sermon on 
 the occasion was preached by the Rev. John Hall, 
 D. D., LL. D., of New York. The church was 
 filled by a happy company. Among the visiting 
 clergymen who assisted in the ser\ace, apart from 
 
2 4 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the distinguished preacher of the evening, were 
 Rev. J. F. Riggs, D. D., of New Brunswick, N. J.; 
 Rev. N. W. Cadwell of Westfield, N. J.; Rev. J. M. 
 McNulty, D. D., of Woodbridge, N. J.; Rev. 
 Everard Kempshall, D. D., of EHzabeth, and Rev. 
 W. F. Whitaker of Orange, N. J. 
 
 The cost of the new church, including the win- 
 dows, the organ, the pews and carpets, the clock, 
 and the enlargement of the chapel, was about 
 $30,000. Of this amount about one-half was met 
 by special gifts and by subscriptions of the con- 
 gregation, which were paid within two years fol- 
 lowing April 9, 1893; and the remainder was pro- 
 vided for by loans partly secured by a mortgage 
 against the property, and partly by notes signed by 
 the trustees. The mortgage was given to a life in- 
 surance company of New York, and was for the 
 sum of $10,000. In the autumn of 1897 the 
 *' floating indebtedness " was increased by the en- 
 largement and renovation of the manse. The cost, 
 then, of all the improvements to the church prop- 
 erty between July i, 1893, and January i, 1898, may 
 be stated in round numbers as follows: The new 
 church, $23,400; furniture, $1920; new organ (after 
 deducting allowance for the old one), $2000; chapel 
 enlargement, $2000; improvements of manse, 
 $1500. Total, $30,820. On March 31, 1894, 
 the indebtedness of the Church was at its highest 
 point — $16,500; though there were against this 
 subscriptions amounting to $3500. 
 
 Subsequent to the dedication of the church dur- 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 25 
 
 ing a period of six years the Church's indebtedness 
 was gradually reduced, until April, 1900, when it 
 stood as follows: Alortgage, $10,000; notes given 
 by the trustees, $2200; total, $12,200. On the morn- 
 ing of April 22, 1900, the congregation, under the 
 inspiration of the approaching fiftieth anniversary 
 of the founding of the Church, subscribed for the 
 reduction of the balance of debt $7500: thus pro- 
 viding for the wiping out of the floating debt, and 
 the reduction by about one-half of the amount of 
 the mortgage. This was, therefore, the third large 
 subscription given by the congregation during a 
 period of ten years; and it may be noted that the 
 aggregate of the three" subscription amounts was 
 no less than the magnificent sum of $26,000. 
 
 In reviewing this building enterprise we are led 
 to reflect on several causes of special gratitude to 
 God. First of all, the work was fortunate in not 
 being wrecked by the financial panic of 1893. In 
 the very month when the old church was demol- 
 ished a period of financial depression began which 
 lasted for several years. But the Church was not 
 staggered by the danger that at one time appeared 
 to threaten; the work was carried steadily forward 
 while the business interests of the whole country 
 were languishing; and at no time has the burden 
 of debt been overwhelming. At the same time the 
 Church has learned that there is no blessing in a 
 church debt apart from the eiTort for its extinction. 
 Another cause for thankfulness has been the at- 
 tractiveness and beautv of the new house of wor- 
 
26 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 ship. No serious blunder marred the tasks of 
 architect and builder. The singular beauty of the 
 new church has been the object of universal re- 
 mark. It may be expected to serve as a " joy," if 
 not " forever," at least during the lifetime of the 
 present generation. 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 27 
 
 IV. 
 
 SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. 
 
 Nature, through all her works, in great degree, 
 
 Borrows a blessing from variety. 
 
 — Chic7'cJiill. 
 
 The Sunday School of the Church has always 
 been, of course, an important element of its life. 
 It has grown, with the Church, from very humble 
 proportions. The following is believed to be an 
 accurate list of its superintendents from the begin- 
 ning: Samuel W. Thompson, William Crane, 
 Josiah Crane, Jr., Ebenezar Hart, James A. Bald- 
 win, N. G. Foster, Fisher A. Fisher, William D. 
 Wood, Walter ]\I. Irving, Frank H. Valentine, and 
 N. R. Foster. The longest term of service of these 
 was that of Mr. Wood, who held office from 1872 
 until his death in June, 1893 — one of the most use- 
 ful officials the Church has ever had, and almost 
 an ideal superintendent. The present superin- 
 tendent is a worthy successor to his ablest prede- 
 cessor. The number of scholars in 185 1 was 29. 
 Our present nimiber of officers, teachers, and 
 scholars is 327. Of these 55 are members of the 
 " Home Department," a highly important feature 
 of recent creation. 
 
 The history and present status of the Ladies' Aid 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 29 
 
 The Young People's Society of Christian En- 
 deavor was organized in December, 1888, with 10 
 members. It has had 21 presidents, the first being 
 Mr. N. R. Foster, and the present head being Mr. 
 S. W. Winne. The membership is as follows: ac- 
 tive members, 29; associate members, 3; honorary 
 members, 3. 
 
 The Junior Christian Endeavor Society was or- 
 ganized in 1892, and it has had three superin- 
 tendents: Mrs. C. T. Bingham, Miss Jeanie Wat- 
 son, and Mrs. F. E. Woodrufif. It has 20 members. 
 
 The Women's Missionary Society is an indis- 
 pensable adjunct of every prosperous Presbyterian 
 church, and for a good many years such a society 
 has been in existence in connection with our own 
 Church. The object of the society is to foster and 
 enlarge the missionary spirit, particularly among 
 the women of the congregation, and to raise funds 
 for missions. During the past ten years the so- 
 ciety has contributed to missionary objects the 
 sum of $2060.55. The president is Mrs. William 
 Vigelius. 
 
 In 1897 the Young W^omen's Missionary Society 
 came into existence — a live and interesting organ- 
 ization. Its presidents in order have been: Miss 
 M. N. Bradley, Miss M. I. Thornton, Miss M. E. 
 Foster, and Miss J. L. Vreeland. Since its birth 
 the society has contributed for missionary work of 
 one form or another about $100. 
 
 In the spring of 1898 the chapel at Garwood 
 came under the control of our Church. For sev- 
 
30 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 eral years a small religious organization of a union 
 character had supported a Sunday School and held 
 occasional devotional services in the public-school 
 building and afterward in a room in the Lent build- 
 ing in that place. It finally came to be the desire 
 of those supporting the enterprise to be connected 
 with our Church; and accordingly the Session as- 
 sumed control at their recjuest. Since then preach- 
 ing services have been regularly maintained, and 
 the Sunday School has steadily grown and pros- 
 pered. Thus far it has been the policy of the Ses- 
 sion, with the approval of those on the ground, to 
 secure the services as preacher of a licentiate stu- 
 dent of a near-by theological seminary during the 
 greater portion of each year. The student preach- 
 ers who have thus far engaged in this work have, 
 without exception, done creditable service. These 
 have been: J. Herbert MacConnell, J. Elmer Rus- 
 sell, R, C. Dobson, and J. K. Howard. The super- 
 intendents of the Sunday School, who have also 
 had a general oversight of the work at the chapel, 
 during the period we are considering, have been 
 C. T. Bingham, John Sorter, and G. H. Krause. 
 The membership of the Sunday School is now 70, 
 and it is not unusual to find in attendance upon a 
 fair Sabbath as many as 60, or even more. The 
 present treasurer of the chapel is D. B. Lent, and 
 the treasurer of the Sunday School is W. W. 
 Reeder. There is great promise in the w^ork of 
 this particular organization, situated as it is in a 
 growing manufacturing center in Cranford town- 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 31 
 
 ship. The financial support of the chapel is largely 
 provided by the Church. It is to be hoped that in 
 the not distant future a suitable house of worship 
 —which is much needed— may be provided in con- 
 nection with this department of the Church. 
 
32 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 V. 
 
 BENEFICE^XE. 
 
 He is beneficent who acts kindly, not for his own bene- 
 fit, but for another's. — Cicero. 
 
 For many years our Church has contributed 
 money for causes connected with the_ kingdom of 
 Christ, aside from self-support. In the early days, 
 when the Church was small and struggling under 
 a heavy load of debt, of course the average annual 
 contributions to missionary and denominational in- 
 terests must have been small. We have not at hand 
 the data to determine the amounts given in these 
 directions in the Church's early period. But we 
 know that during the last fifteen or twenty years 
 the Church has given each year quite a handsome 
 sum in the aggregate for what is termed " benefi- 
 cence." And for many years, also, it has been the 
 policy of the Church to give each year to each of 
 the causes that have had the official indorsement 
 of the General Assembly. Besides these the 
 Church has contributed to worthy objects not 
 strictly denominational — like the American Bible 
 Society, for instance; and it has responded fre- 
 quently to special calls for financial help for the 
 needy. Thus on Sunday morning, June 9, 1889, 
 the congregation gave over $80 for the sufferers by 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 33 
 
 the Johnstown flood; and in 1900 it gave over $40 
 for the sufferers from the Galveston flood. But 
 we cannot mention a goodly fraction of the worthy 
 objects that have received aid from the Church in 
 greater or less amounts. 
 
 For quite a number of years the Church has 
 given a monthly offering to one of the approved 
 causes of the denomination, and it has devoted a 
 percentage of the funds received from the weekly 
 envelope system, divided according to a regular 
 schedule, to these ends. These causes, with the 
 months m which they thus receive attention, are as 
 follow^s: Foreign Mission, January; Aid for Col- 
 leges, February; Sunday-School Missions, March; 
 Session's Fund, to supplement other offerings, 
 April; Home Missions in New Jersey (Synodical 
 Home Missions), May; Temperance Work, June; 
 Church Erection, July; Relief for Aged or Disabled 
 Ministers, September; Education of Students for 
 the Ministry, October; Home Missions, November; 
 Missions among our Colored Population, Decem- 
 ber. The offering for August goes to the Ameri- 
 can Bible Society. Of all these objects the larger 
 amounts have gone to the support of Home and 
 Foreisfn Missions. It mav be added that the Sun- 
 day School contributes monthly to each of the ob- 
 jects we have specified. Then, too, the various 
 missionary societies of the Church have contrib- 
 uted annually, often relatively large amounts, to 
 various forms of missionary work. 
 
 It would hardly be profitable, even if we pos- 
 
34 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 sessed the data for the statement, to give the pre- 
 cise figures to indicate what the Church has given 
 in the Hne of beneficence throughout its history. 
 It may prove interesting, however, to glance over 
 the reports of the Church in the matter of benefi- 
 cence to the General Assembly during the last ten 
 years. During our last decade the Church has, ac- 
 cording to these data, given in this line the sum 
 of $12,330. Of course this statement is well inside 
 of the actual total, since a considerable amount in 
 the aggregate cannot have been covered by our 
 formal reports. The following table will show the 
 separate aggregates given for various causes during 
 the years 1892 and 1901 inclusive: 
 
 Home Missions, . 
 
 $4921 
 
 Foreign Missions, 
 
 • 3914 
 
 Education, .... 
 
 248 
 
 Sunday-School Missions, 
 
 529 
 
 Church Erection, . 
 
 215 
 
 Ministerial Relief, 
 
 412 
 
 Missions to Freedmen, . 
 
 320 
 
 Synodical Home Missions, . 
 
 977 
 
 Aid for Colleges, . 
 
 245 
 
 Miscellaneous, 
 
 549 
 
 For a long period the Church has taken an in- 
 terest in Christian missions beyond that of many 
 churches of equal membership and resources. A 
 decided forward step was taken in the support of 
 Foreign Missions in January, 1898. On the 23d 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 35 
 
 of that month Mr. L. E. Wishard, representing the 
 '' Forward Movement " of the Board of Foreign 
 Missions, addressed the congregation and urged 
 that the Church undertake the support of a mis- 
 sionary in the foreign field. A prompt and hearty 
 response was made to his appeal; and for two years, 
 1898 and 1899, the Church paid the salary of Rev. 
 John N. Forman, an able and well-known mission- 
 ary of the denomination in India. Doubtless the 
 Church received much good from this enterprise 
 through being brought into personal touch with a 
 particular servant of the Church in the out-field. 
 Owing to the Church's recent effort to reduce its 
 debt this particular work has been relinquished; but 
 it is hoped that, as soon as the congregation is 
 reHeved of the special stress of debt-paying, the 
 undertaking may be resumed. 
 
 There are two ideals toward which every church 
 should look in the matter of beneficence. It should 
 work toward the point where as much is given an- 
 nually for outside beneficence as for self-support; 
 and it should work up to a condition where each 
 member of the church and congregation gives regu- 
 larly each week a fixed amount for the causes that 
 have a claim upon the denomination. Gradual 
 progress has been made toward these ideals by our 
 Church, though it has not yet reached them; and 
 it cannot but be believed that through all the com- 
 ing years the Church will be known as a ^kius- 
 church. 
 
S6 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 VI. 
 
 REVIVALS. 
 
 Christ — the one great word 
 
 Well worth all languages in earth or heaven. 
 
 — Bailey. 
 
 Every healthful church has its periods of special 
 spiritual awakening, and ours has been no excep- 
 tion to the rule. There have been at least four 
 notable revivals in the Church during the half 
 century. 
 
 During one of the years of the pastorate of Rev. 
 W. H. Roberts a special regard for spiritual mat- 
 ters appeared in the congregation, special services 
 were held, and a number were brought into the 
 membership of the Church. 
 
 In the early spring of 1891 special union services, 
 in which the M. E. Church joined, were held in the 
 church, under the direction of Rev. Frank Hall 
 Wright. Although the evangelist, then quite a 
 young man, was the son of a full-blooded Choctaw 
 Indian, he was a highly edticated and refined min- 
 ister of the Presbyterian Church, a graduate of 
 Union College and Union Theological Seminary. 
 He was an able exponent of Gospel teaching and 
 a deeply consecrated child of God. What attracted 
 the public even more than his preaching was his 
 
REV. WILLIAM HEXRY ROBERTS, D.D., LL.D. 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 37 
 
 rare gift of music; and seldom if ever had those 
 who hstened to him heard the Gospel sung with 
 such cultivated sw^eetness as by him. He preached 
 the Gospel and he sang the Gospel, and he talked 
 the Gospel in private converse with those he came 
 \n contact with; and as a result of the work of the 
 Divine Spirit through him quite a number, mostly 
 young people, gave themselves to God and after- 
 ward entered the fellowship of the Church. The 
 general result of the ministration of Mr. Wright in 
 our midst was most happy. 
 
 Another revival occurred in January, 1897. On 
 the 15th of the preceding month the world-re- 
 nowned evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, who had 
 been holding services for several weeks in Cooper 
 Union and Carnegie Hall in New York, preached 
 in the afternoon and again in the evening in the 
 church, to great audiences. The one-day visit of 
 this great evangelistic genius served as an excellent 
 preparation to two weeks of special services, be- 
 ginning with the Week of Prayer of the New Year. 
 These services were under the charge of Rev. Wil- 
 liam Walton Clark, who had a wide repute as a 
 " Bible reader " and evangelist, and who had long 
 been a friend of Mr. Moody. A striking feature 
 of the services was the unusually large volunteer 
 choir that led the singing of the Gospel hymns that 
 were employed. Services were held nightly, and on 
 two afternoons of each week. The work was en- 
 tirely free from sensational features, and it was al- 
 together wholesome. A goodly number entered 
 
38 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 the Christian fold at the time, and some of the 
 most faithful members of the Church at the pres- 
 ent hour began their Christian course then. The 
 new members received into the Church in 1897 
 numbered forty-nine. 
 
 But the Church's greatest revival was its last in 
 the half-century — that of February and March of 
 the present year. It sprang, as every revival must, 
 from the earnest prayers of God's people, who were 
 concerned over the worldliness and indifference to 
 spiritual concerns that were manifested in the com- 
 munity. Early in the preceding autumn, on the 
 invitation of the pastor, Rev. George F. Pentecost, 
 D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of 
 Yonkers, N. Y., and one of the ablest and best- 
 known evangelistic preachers in the land, engaged 
 himself to preach daily for two or three weeks, be- 
 ginning on the 19th of February. In every sense 
 Dr. Pentecost's mission was successful. On four 
 afternoons of each week, and each evening, except 
 Saturdays, he preached to large audiences, for three 
 weeks. Daily reports of the meetings were printed 
 in the Elizabeth Daily Journal, and the audiences 
 were composed not only of Cranford people, but 
 also of people of neighboring towns. The spiritual 
 impression made on the community was pro- 
 nounced. Quite a number were converted, and 
 others who had grown cold in Christian service 
 re-dedicated themselves to the Master. Including 
 a number who brought certificates from other 
 churches, thirty-seven united with the Church on 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 39 
 
 last Easter Day. We cannot but believe that last- 
 ing good will appear to have followed this special 
 work of grace. The Church membership was 
 surely entitled to rejoice over this ingathering dur- 
 ing the first year of the new century. 
 
 While it is right for a church to pray and work 
 for these special times of refreshing from the 
 Lord's presence, Christian people ought not to for- 
 get to magnify the ordinary means of grace. Con- 
 versions ought to attend the regular preaching of 
 the Word. Every Communion season ought to 
 mark the beginning of an avowed Christian life on 
 the part of one or more. Let the Church remem- 
 ber that a life of service to the great Head of the 
 Church may begin whenever a sincere dedication of 
 self to God is made. The feeling ought not to be 
 encouraged that the only right time to begin the 
 Christian career is during a special term of evan- 
 gelistic services. 
 
40 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 VII. 
 
 FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH. 
 
 Death is the privilege of human nature; 
 And life without it were not worth our taking. 
 
 — Rowe. 
 
 We must not omit to refer with a feeling of rev- 
 erent appreciation to those who have served the 
 Church with unusual devotion and who rest from 
 their labors, though their works follow them. We 
 cannot mention them all, for the list has now grown 
 long; nor can we dwell upon the names that occur 
 to us sufficiently at length to permit the scope of 
 the description to suit the theme. 
 
 Josiah Crane, Sr., and Samuel W. Thompson 
 were the strongest pillars of the Church in its early 
 years. It is probably just to say that the Church 
 could never have lived through its infancy without 
 the assistance these two^ devoted Christian men 
 rendered. They were faithful to the Church in its 
 every crisis and need: faithful in their presence, 
 their counsel, their gifts of money, and their 
 prayers. Other prominent workers in the Church, 
 from the date of its founding, were William Crane, 
 John Miller, and David Miller. Later in its history 
 John R. Miller, Ebenezer Hart, J. A. Baldwin, Job 
 W^illiams, John Seaton, C. D. Bigelow, Ira Can- 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 41 
 
 field, and Alexander Stewart, as well as many 
 others, were men of sterling character who were 
 unfailing in their devotion to the. Church. 
 
 Nor must we forget to give honorable mention 
 to the lady workers of the Church during its first 
 thirty years, — the Priscillas and Dorcases, — to 
 whom an infinite debt of gratitude is due, and who 
 are in Heaven's bright mansions. These include, 
 among others, Mrs. JosiaJi Crane, Mrs. Phebe 
 Garthwait, Mrs. Alary Bigelow, Mrs. John R. 
 Miller; and of those belonging to a somewhat later 
 period, but prior to fifteen years ago, Mrs. Cahill, 
 Mrs. Partridge, Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Adams, Mrs. 
 Wagner, and Airs. Stewart. 
 
 Of the devoted friends of the Church who have 
 died while members of the congregation during 
 the past fifteen years, these may be mentioned, with 
 the years of their death: Richard Hale (1886), 
 E. K. Adams (1887), Joseph N. Ely (1888), William 
 \\'oodrufif (1890), John Cromwell (1891), Mrs. 
 Phebe Rindell (1892), D. S. B. Bennet (1892), 
 Samuel Brush (1893), Henry H. Cowan (1893), 
 William D. Wood (1893), Airs. J. K. AlacConnell 
 (1894), John W. Close (1894), Edwin Garthwait 
 (1897), AVilliam D. Bigelow (1897), John Hegeman 
 (1897), L. P. V. Brymer (1899), Mrs. Noel R. Park 
 (1899), Aloses T. Crane (1901). Of these several 
 require more than a mere mention. 
 
 Richard Hale was the son of the David Hale 
 well known fifty years ago as one of the founders 
 of the New York Journal of Commerce. Like his 
 
42 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 distinguished father, he was a highly accompHshed 
 man, as well as a sincere and devout Christian. 
 While a resident of Cranford he was a faithful sup- 
 porter of our Church. He occupied a front pew in 
 the house of worship, and he was always present 
 at the evening as well as at the morning service on 
 Sundays; and he was a regular attendant of the 
 weekly prayer meeting. His death by accident was 
 a great shock to the community, and the Church 
 long and sorely missed his genial and inspiring 
 presence. 
 
 In the summer of 1893 a great blow fell upon 
 the Church in the death of William D. Wood, after 
 a painful illness. For many years Mr. Wood had 
 been a ruling elder; but it was as superintendent 
 of the Sunday School that he made an ineffaceable 
 impression on the life of the Church. He possessed 
 great executive ability; he was exceedingly fond of 
 young people; he was methodical and painstaking 
 in method to a rare degree; he was extremely mag- 
 netic in manner, and he was one among a thousand 
 in punctuality and faithfulness to his trusts. Dr. 
 Roberts, his pastor for four years, has declared 
 that in his time he was the best Sunday-school 
 superintendent in New Jersey; high praise, but not 
 extreme, as many who knew him will be ready to 
 believe. He well supported the Church on every 
 side, and during a long period of years. He was 
 always in attendance on the weekly prayer meeting, 
 in which, with rare exceptions, he took active part. 
 Not during the eight years that have elapsed since 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 43 
 
 his death has the loss felt by the Church through 
 his departure been wholly repaired. 
 
 It is probably not too much to say that the 
 Church has never had among its women members 
 a more loyal friend, or a more earnest, unselfish, 
 and tireless worker than Mrs. ]. K. MacConnell. 
 She was one of those noble spirits who seem born 
 to help their churches in practical ways. For a 
 time she was an efficient president of the Ladies' 
 Aid Society. She was ever ready to open her 
 house for gatherings of the congregation of various 
 sorts, and she wrought noble results for the social 
 side of the Church life. She was greatly interested 
 in the project of a new church, and her death but a 
 few months before the dedication of the new edi- 
 fice seemed peculiarly pathetic. The Ladies' Aid 
 Society properly erected in the main vestibule of 
 the new church a fine memorial window to her 
 memory. 
 
 Edwin Garthwait was one of the original mem- 
 bers of the congregation, and for many years prior 
 to his death he was a faithful member of the 
 Church. His great love for and loyalty to the 
 Church were indicated by a magnificent gift that 
 he left to it by bequest. 
 
 Moses T. Crane, who died early in the present 
 year at an extreme age, demands special mention 
 from the fact that he was the last to survive of the 
 founders of the Church, and from the further fact 
 that for many years in its early period he served 
 the organization faithfully as treasurer. 
 
44 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 One solemn question presents itself as we con- 
 sider this honor-roll of those who have joined the 
 Church on high, and it is this: How many of the 
 young men and women who are with us at this 
 hour will so serve the Church that, fifty years hence, 
 their names will demand honorable mention in the 
 new pages that will be written to celebrate its cen- 
 tennial? Who would not rather figure in such a 
 history, and in such a light, than to have a monu- 
 ment of marble or brass to mark his tomb? 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 45 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE JUBILEE. 
 
 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year ... It shall be a 
 jubilee unto you. — LezK xxv . 10. 
 
 The exercises in commemoration of the Church's 
 jubilee began Sunday morning, June 9, 1901, and 
 ended on the evening of the following Wednesday. 
 The anniversary had been looked forward to dur- 
 ing more than two years by the ofhcers of the 
 Church, and when it occurred it was not marred 
 by the slightest hitch or other unpleasant feature. 
 The original plan had been to have the anniversary 
 exercises coincide with the exact date of the birth- 
 day of the Church — June 26; but in order to avoid 
 the greater risk of extreme heat the second w^eek 
 in June had been finally decided on. The weather 
 proved to be almost ideal on the date selected. 
 
 When the large congregation assembled on the 
 morning of Sunday, June 9, they found the audi- 
 torium beautifully decorated with bunting and 
 flowers. Mr. Calvin Voorhis had directed the dec- 
 orations, and the perfect taste he had manifested 
 was the comment of all. At the left of the pulpit 
 appeared the date " 185 1 " and at the right the 
 date '' 1901." The desk was draped with the Stars 
 and Stripes, and flags were festooned variously 
 
46 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 about the platform; while red, white, and blue 
 streamers fell in graceful lines from the ceiling to 
 the corners of the arches of the roof. The floral 
 decorations of the platform had been beautifully 
 arranged by Mrs. F. N. Brundage, and they con- 
 sisted of shrubs, wild flowers, and cut flowers pro- 
 vided in generous quantities. The members of the 
 Junior Endeavor Society, under the direction of the 
 superintendent, Mrs. F. E. Woodruff, provided the 
 wild flowers. 
 
 The pastor was assisted in the service by Rev. 
 E. Morris Ferguson, who ofifered the prayer. The 
 sermon, which was a sketch of the history of the 
 parish, was from the text, Lev. xxv. lo, '' And ye 
 shall hallow the fiftieth year. . . It shall be a 
 jubilee unto you." A feature of the service was 
 the singing of a hymn written by the pastor for the 
 occasion."^ A large choir, under the leadership of 
 the Church's choirmaster, Mr. Edward A. Johnson, 
 led in the service of praise, and Mr. William N. 
 Bartow, a member of the Church, supported the 
 organ with the cornet. The regular organist. Miss 
 Minnie M. Vreeland, presided at the organ. The 
 ushers were Messrs. N. R. Foster, Daniel Burr, 
 Albert Tusch, Jr., and F. C. Blauvelt. There were 
 quite a number of visitors from out of town, mostly 
 of those who had formerly been related in some 
 way to the Church. 
 
 The church was filled at 3.30 in the afternoon, 
 
 when the anniversary of the Sunday School was 
 
 *See p. 6. The hymn was sung to the tune " Louvan." 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 47 
 
 observed. The superintendent, Mr. X. R. Foster, 
 presided, and he was assisted in the introductory 
 exercises by the associate superintendent, Mr. 
 George G. Teller, and by the superintendent of 
 Garwood Chapel, Air. George H. Krause. The 
 principal features were an admirable address bv 
 Rev. E. Morris Ferguson, secretary of the State 
 Sunday-School Association, and an interesting 
 talk by Mr. W. W. Mendell, \vho had been a 
 member of the Sunday School at the date of 
 the organization of the Church. The singing 
 was spirited, and there were a number of recita- 
 tions by pupils. The latter were by the following 
 children: Helen Severns, Mildred Crane, Denman 
 Penniston, Rosa Ruhtard, Elsie Sorter, Vernie 
 Yingst, Lulu Reeder, Lizzie Huber, Idell Reeder. 
 Miss Edna Teller sang a solo, and a duet was sung 
 by Misses Amelia Becker and Minnie Siegl. The 
 Ganvood School joined in the celebration. 
 
 A great crowd was in attendance at the evening 
 service, when Rev. George F. Pentecost, D. D., of 
 Yonkers, N. Y., preached an anniversary sermon. 
 The pastor presided, and was assisted in the pre- 
 liminary exercises by Rev. H. C. Thompson, pastor 
 of St. Paul's M. E. Church of Cranford. The ser- 
 mon of the distinguished preacher of the evenins" 
 was worthy of the man and of the occasion. Its 
 text w^as Matt. ix. 17: ''Neither do men put new 
 wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and 
 the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but 
 they put new wine into new bottles, and both are 
 
48 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 preserved." The theme was " The Church and 
 Gospel for the Twentieth Century." The service 
 was in every respect memorable. 
 
 On Monday evening, June 9, the church was 
 crowded to its utmost capacity to listen to a com- 
 plimentary organ recital and concert. Every seat 
 was taken, every inch of available space in the aisles 
 was occupied, and a large number who were com- 
 pelled to stand remained throughout the evening. 
 This entertainment was pronounced by those cpiali- 
 fied to judge the finest concert that had ever been 
 given in Cranford. The following is condensed 
 from the report of the concert which appeared the 
 next day in the Cranford Chronicle: 
 
 " The programme opened with an organ solo, the 
 composition of Flotow — ' Overture, Martha ' — l)y 
 Mr. Homer N. Bartlett, who is the organist of the 
 Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, New York. Henry 
 Smart's ' Queen of the Night ' was a trio sung by 
 Mrs. Mina Schilling and Mrs. M. N. Robinson, 
 sopranos, and Miss Maurer. contralto. This se- 
 lection was splendidly rendered, and brought out 
 the exquisite qualities of the singers' voices. The 
 audience applauded so heartily that the trio sang 
 as an encore ' Lift Thine Eyes ' from Mendelssohn's 
 Oratorio, ' Elijah.' A solo, ' Celeste Aida,' by Verdi, 
 was the next number on the programme. This was 
 sung by Mr. Charles Kaiser, who has an attractive 
 personality, and a magnificent tenor voice. His 
 tones are deep and full, and his voice has a sweet 
 quality, especially in the high notes. For some 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 49 
 
 years he has been associated with the Cathedral in 
 New York, being the tenor soloist. The accom- 
 panist of the evening was Mr. Joseph Pizzarello, a 
 native of France. His status in the world of music 
 is attested by the fact that he accompanies the solo- 
 ists in Grand Opera — Maurel, the De Reszkes, and 
 others. A solo, ' Ah ! My Son ! ' from ' The 
 Prophet/ by Meyerbeer, was rendered by Miss 
 jNIaurer. The soloist was recalled, and sang a 
 pretty little ballad. She is a soloist at the Dam- 
 rosch concerts, and achieved great success in the 
 operas recently given in Brooklyn. Mr. Van der 
 Gucht, a Cuban, gave ' Faust Fantasie ' (Gounod- 
 Sarasate) as a violin solo. This was greatly enjoyed 
 by all, and he gave as an encore a berceuse, one 
 of the sweetest compositions of Reber. He used 
 his instrument with great skill, and brought out 
 all its wonderful possibilities. Part Second of the 
 programme began with a Hungarian Rhapsody — 
 No. 12 — by Liszt, which w^as rendered by Sefior 
 Miguel Castellanos. This piano solo was rendered 
 in an exceedingly brilliant manner. Mr. Castel- 
 lanos is a Cuban of noble birth, and he is a teacher 
 of music in the Convent of the Sacred Heart, New 
 York. The solo was followed by the rendering 
 of Gounod's ' Ave Maria ' by Mrs. Mina Schilling. 
 She was accompanied by the organ, piano, and 
 violin; and so magnificently did she sing that the 
 applause was tremendous and long continued. She 
 repeated the piece as an encore. The quartette — 
 Mrs. Schilling, Miss Maurer, Mr. Kaiser, and Mr. 
 Schilling — ^then sang Verdi's ' Rigoletto ' brilliantly. 
 
50 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Mr. Bartlett played two of his own compositions, 
 the ' Polonaise Militaire ' and ' Allegretto Grazi- 
 oso/ as concluding numbers." 
 
 This magnificent concert was due to the enter- 
 prise of a number of the gentlemen of the Church, 
 chiefly of the trustees, and to the gracious gen- 
 erosity of Mrs. Fred Schilling, Jr. 
 
 On Tuesday evening, June ii, exercises were 
 again held in the church, the speakers being mem- 
 bers of the Presbytery of Elizabeth. The pastor 
 in a few words of greeting called on the moderator, 
 Rev. J. G. Mason, D. D., to preside; and the latter, 
 on taking the chair, made a brief address in fitting 
 terms. Rev. Oscar L. Joseph, pastor of the First 
 M. E. Church of Cranford, offered prayer, and the 
 following ministers gave five-minute addresses: 
 Rev. W. R. Richards, D. D., pastor of the Crescent 
 Avenue Church, Plainfield; Rev. N. W. Cadwell, 
 pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Westfield; Rev. 
 L A. Blauvelt, D. D., pastor of the Roselle Church; 
 Rev. George Hubbard Payson, D. D., pastor of the 
 First Church, Rah way; Rev. John T. Kerr, pastor 
 of the Third Church, Elizabeth, and Rev. John A. 
 Liggett, D. D., pastor of the Second Church, Rah- 
 way. Dr. Richards spoke of the distinct mission of 
 each congregation and of the significance of an an- 
 niversary like that in course of celebration. Mr. 
 Cadwell brought greeting from the mother church. 
 Dr. Blauvelt spoke as a long-time neighbor of the 
 Cranford Church and its present pastor. Messrs. 
 Payson and Kerr gave speeches of great wit and 
 
REV. JA^r^:s v. riggs. d. 
 
 D. 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 51 
 
 brilliancy, particularly emphasizing their personal 
 friendship for the pastor of the Church. Dr. Lig- 
 gett declared his admiration for what the Church 
 had accomplished, and in very happy phrases con- 
 gratulated the congregation on past achievements. 
 The exercises, which lasted a little over an hour, 
 were exceedingly brilliant throughout, and were 
 greatly enjoyed by all who were so fortunate as to 
 be present. Telegrams or letters of congratulation 
 were read from Rev. D. S. Gregory, D. D., editor 
 of the Homilctic Rcviczv; Rev. Everard Kempshall, 
 D. D.; Rev. Samuel Parry, D. D., Stated Clerk of 
 the Presbytery; Rev. E. G. Read, D. D., and Mr. 
 Edward Lane of New York City. Among the 
 other clergymen present besides those mentioned 
 were Rev. John Stuchell, pastor of the First 
 Church, Elizabeth, and Rev. J. M. McXulty, D. D., 
 pastor of the Woodbridge Church. 
 
 The final jubilee service was held in the church 
 Wednesday evening, June 12, and a large audience 
 was in attendance. The pastor presided. Prayer 
 was offered by the venerable Rev. Wilson Phraner, 
 D. D., who had preached at a service at which the 
 founding of the Church was under advisement, over 
 fifty years ago. Adresses followed by Rev. William 
 Henry Roberts, D. D., the Stated Clerk of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, and pastor of the Church from 1873 
 to 1877, and Rev. James F. Riggs, D. D., pastor 
 of the Brick Church, East Orange, pastor of the 
 Church from 1877 to 1884. Dr. Roberts' subject 
 was " The Presbvterian Church of the Twentieth 
 
52 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 Century," * and that of Dr. Riggs was " The 
 Suburban Church." f They were both able ad- 
 dresses, and were hstened to by many of their 
 former parishioners with much pleasure. The 
 benediction was pronounced by Rev. H. C. Thomp- 
 son, pastor of St. Paul's M. E. Church, Cranford. 
 
 After the exercises in the church a reception was 
 held in the chapel to the present and former mem- 
 bers of the parish, at which several hundred people 
 were present. The Ladies' Aid Society had dec- 
 orated the chapel for the occasion, and the mem- 
 bers provided refreshments for the guests of the 
 evening. While the people were chatting Gar- 
 land's parlor orchestra provided music, and helped 
 to give a festive tone to the gathering. It was a 
 happy occasion, and when the evening ended all 
 felt, it may be believed, that the entire celebration 
 had been a great success. All the members of the 
 Church had reason to feel a degree of honest pride 
 in their organization. The reception committee for 
 the evening consisted of the following: Mr. E. W. 
 Austin, Mr. A. V. Hart, Mr. C. D. Lakey, Dr. J. K. 
 MacConnell, Mr. F. J. Newcomb, Mr. George G. 
 Teller, and Mr. B. A. Towl. 
 
 Among the newspapers, secular and religious, 
 which contained more or less full reports of the an- 
 niversary exercises were these: the Cranford Citi- 
 zcn, and Chronicle; the Elizabeth Daily Journal; thfe 
 New York Tribune, the Mail and Express, and the 
 Evening Post, and the New York Observer; and the 
 Philadelphia Presbyterian. 
 
 *See Appendix IV. p. 66. f See Appendix V. p. 73. 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 53 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE FUTURE. 
 
 If you can look into the seeds of time, 
 
 And say which grain will grow, and which will not; 
 
 Speak then to me. 
 
 — Shakespeaj'c . 
 
 '* How narrow our souls become," says Richter, 
 " when absorbed in any present good or ill ! It is 
 only the thought of the future that makes them 
 great." The noble company of men and women 
 who have been of our Church, and loved it, during 
 the half-century of its life would have followed a 
 mean motive if they had used their church privi- 
 leges only for present blessing, forgetful of the 
 claim upon them of a later generation. And if we, 
 who are in a large sense reaping in the spiritual 
 field where our fathers have sown, recognize aright 
 our mission we shall think, plan, and pray for those 
 who are to take our places when we have finished 
 our allotted tasks in our Zion and gone to our rest. 
 What, then, of our Church's future? 
 
 So substantial, commodious, convenient, and 
 beautiful is our house of worship that we cannot 
 believe that during the ensuing fifty years any new 
 building enterprise will demand the attention of 
 our membership. To use a commercial expression. 
 
54 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 our " plant " is apparently solid and well-equipped; 
 and it ought to meet all its requirements for a long 
 time to come. If we may believe that Cranford is 
 to remain the attractive suburb it now is, and that it 
 is to grow as it has grown durng the past twenty 
 years, it will not require a great exercise of the pro- 
 phetic gift to foresee that not long hence our con- 
 gregation will have grown to double its present 
 proportions. In fifteen years our membership has 
 grown from 125 to 377. During the next fifteen 
 years it ought to grow to 600 or 700. Is it too 
 much to believe that fifty years from now our mem- 
 bership will not be less than 1000? In a former 
 generation it would have been predicted from our 
 present numerical standpoint that a second Pres- 
 byterian church would soon swarm out from the 
 mother hive; but the present tendency is all in the 
 direction of strengthening existing churches, instead 
 of wasting money and spiritual force in multiply- 
 ing small congregations. In the business world the 
 trend is constantly toward centralizing power and 
 responsibility, and so securing economy, through 
 combination. And the same law is bound to pre- 
 vail in the ecclesiastical world. Fortunately for 
 Cranford, and fortunately for our Church, — and, 
 we may add, fortunately for the cause of Christ, — 
 the logic of events is working to prevent the estab- 
 lishment of new churches in our place. If the prin- 
 ciples of forbearance, charity, and concession are 
 to prevail in our circle there is no reason why, for 
 long years, all who can occupy the broad platform 
 
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 55 
 
 of our Presbyterian system may not worship hap- 
 pily togetlier under our one roof. We may look, 
 then, to the steady growth of this Church in num- 
 bers and in strength, if it please God, until its first 
 century is rounded out. 
 
 We may likewise trust that during the coming 
 years the glad news of Jesus Christ will continue 
 to be preached in our pulpit, unmixed wath purely 
 human opinions, and unattended by sensational 
 elements. This will not imply that the faces of our 
 members will be toward the sunset, ^len need not 
 depart from Christ in order to be true learners, and 
 to discover new truth and new methods of declar- 
 ing it. New light is ever to break forth from the 
 Word of God. The nature of Christ and the scope 
 of His Gospel are so vast that His followers are 
 bound to be kept from the dreary domain of old- 
 fogyism so long as their eye is kept upon their 
 adorable Lord. Let us hope that our Church wall 
 never betray Christ and follow after strange divini- 
 ties, while it is yet sufficiently receptive of truth to 
 keep up with God's own movement along the ages. 
 But the Church that grows healthily must remain 
 upon the immovable foundation once for all estab- 
 lished by the infinite and infallible Builder. 
 
 Difficulties will be encountered by our Church, 
 but through the grace of God and by the faith of 
 His people they wall be overcome. There are prob- 
 lems that have recently arisen to be solved by the 
 suburban church. Forces have begun to be ar- 
 rayed against faith and spirituality that are peculiar 
 
56 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 to localities of the stamp of ours. But the trust and 
 devotion of the faithful, be they few or many, and 
 whatever their local conditions, can remove moun- 
 tains; and our faith is great that this center of 
 spiritual influence will not lose its grip upon the 
 community, but that it will rather grow, even as 
 Truth itself grows, toward an absolute supremacy. 
 The blessings of God be multiplied, then, upon the 
 First — and the only — Presbyterian Church of Cran- 
 ford! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 57 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 LIST OF ELDERS, WITH DATES OF ORDINATION. 
 
 Samuel White Thompson, 
 Josiah Crane, 
 William Crane, 
 John Miller, 
 Ebenezer Hart, 
 J. A. Baldwin, 
 Job S. Williams, 
 John Seaton, 
 Nathaniel G. Foster, 
 Fisher A. Fisher, 
 Ira Canfield, 
 Noel R. Park, . 
 Joseph S. Ehvell, 
 John W. Close, 
 Dr. Joseph K. MacConnell, 
 William D. Wood, . 
 William E. Smith, . 
 Edgar S. Ells, . 
 Edmund B. Horton, 
 Edward M. Wray, . 
 George H. Krause, . 
 Spencer C. Blake, 
 Samuel Brush, . 
 Frank H. Valentine, 
 Walter M. Irving, 
 Charles T. Bingham, 
 Edward W. Hazen, . 
 Nathaniel R. Foster, 
 Frederick E. Woodruff, 
 
 June 26, 1851. 
 1 < • I 
 
 < i ( < 
 April 6, 1S58. 
 
 April 19, 1S65. 
 April 14, 1866. 
 April 3, 1S67. 
 October 4, 1868. 
 April 6, 1870. 
 May 5, 1872. 
 
 March 29, 1874, 
 
 April 14, 1878. 
 April 17, 1881. 
 
 April 22, 1888. 
 
 April 14, 1889. 
 April 19, 1891. 
 May 5, 1893. 
 June 24, 1894. 
 April 19, 1896. 
 April 15, 1900. 
 April 28, 1901. 
 
 THE SESSION IN I9OI. 
 
 J. K. MacConnell. Edward M. Wray, Clerk. 
 
 Spencer C. Blake, Treasurer. Nathaniel R. Foster. 
 
 Frederick E. Woodruff. 
 
58 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 LIST OF DEACONS. 
 
 John Grant Crane, 
 David Miller, 
 Josiah Crane, Jr., 
 Jacob N. Irving, 
 George M. Lane, 
 
 E. B. Horton, 
 Theo. A. Crane, 
 N. R. Foster, 
 Stephen D. Day, 
 
 F. E. Woodruff, 
 Daniel Burr, 
 Charles H. Clarke, 
 
 Ordained 
 OR Installed. 
 
 June 26, 1S51. 
 
 April 5, 1865. 
 March 29, 1874. 
 April 6, 1874. 
 June 27, 1S80. 
 June 26, 1881. 
 April 6, 1894. 
 
 April 10, i8g6. 
 April 7, 1S99. 
 April 28, 1901. 
 
 Ceased to Act. 
 
 March 29, 1874. 
 April 10, 1861. 
 March 29, 1S74. 
 
 June 24, 1875. 
 April 17, 1881. 
 
 April 7, 1899. 
 Jan. 22, 1898. 
 April 12, 1901. 
 
 THE BOARD IN I9OI. 
 
 Jacob N. Irving, 
 Daniel Burr. 
 
 Theodore A. Crane. 
 Charles H. Clarke. 
 
I. Jasper C. Hunt, Chairmun. 2. N. R. Foster. 3. Rt^bert Riridell. 
 4. L. P. Naylor. 5. H. N. Fiske. 6. J. C. Miller. 7. John Lutton. 
 
 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 59 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 LIST OF TRUSTEES, 1869-1901. 
 
 Josiali Crane, Sr. 
 Job S. Williams. 
 Fisher A. Fisher. 
 J. G. Crane. 
 J. A. Murdock. 
 Josiah Crane, Jr. 
 N. G. Foster. 
 A. P. Purves. 
 J. W. Close. 
 J. A. Elmendorf. 
 
 E. K. Adams. 
 H. H. Cowan. 
 
 F. A. Ellis. 
 
 W. D. Bigelow. 
 J. A. Bogert. 
 
 G. B. Osborn. 
 
 R. Rindell. 
 G. G. Ely. 
 E. M. Wray. 
 W. M. Irving. 
 P. D. Van Saun. 
 E. W. Austin. 
 J. C. Hunt. 
 H. B. Lounsbury 
 E. B. Horton. 
 John Hegeman. 
 J. C. Miller. 
 Joseph Purcell. 
 N. R. Foster. 
 L. P. Naylor. 
 John Lutton. 
 H. N. Fiske. 
 
 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES IN IQOI. 
 
 Jasper C. Hunt, Chairman. Robert Rindell, Clerk. 
 
 John Lutton, Treasurer. James C. Miller. 
 
 Nathaniel R. Foster. Lawrence P. Naylor. 
 
 Harvey N. Fiske. 
 
6o 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX IV. 
 
 MExMBERSHIP ROLL, SEPTEMBER i, 1901. 
 
 [Explanation: The title " j\Irs." is used uniformly be- 
 fore the names of married women. " Miss" is used before 
 the names of unmarried women only when the sex is other- 
 wise undetermined. The names of men are to be under- 
 stood in cases where the sex is not indicated. 
 
 Omissions from this Roll may be explained by the 
 annual transfer of names of absentees, etc., to the 
 " Reserved Roll."] 
 
 Adams, Caroline L. 
 Adams, Mrs. E. K. 
 Allen, W. C. 
 Allen, Mrs. W. C. 
 Anderson, Mrs. W. W. 
 Anderson, Adelaide Julia. 
 Anthony, Mrs. Edw. J., Jr. 
 Austin, Shelley F. 
 
 Barker, Wesley P. 
 Barker, Mrs. W. P. 
 Barnett, Mrs. Susan. 
 Barnett, Lewis M. 
 Bartow, Wm. N. 
 Bartow, Mrs. Wm. N. 
 Bates, George H. 
 Beadle, Edw., Jr. 
 Beadle, Mrs. Edw., Jr. 
 Beadle, Chas. S.* 
 Beadle, Mrs. Chas. S.* 
 
 * Garwood 
 
 Beebe, George A 
 Beebe, Mrs. George A. 
 Beebe, Allyn W. 
 Benedict, Miss Susan A. 
 Bennet, Miss E. G. 
 Beyer, Annie, 
 Beyer, Elizabeth. 
 Bindenberger, Carrie. 
 Bindenberger, Louise. 
 Bingham, C. T. 
 Bingham, Mrs. C. T. 
 Blake, S. C. 
 Blake, Mrs. S. C. 
 Blake, Robert W. 
 Blake, Mrs. R. W. 
 Blauvelt, C. M. 
 Blauvclt, Mrs. C. M. 
 Blauvelt, Frank Carr. 
 Bookhout, Mrs. Edw. 
 Bookhout, Mrs. Edw., Jr 
 Chapel. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 6i 
 
 Bookhout, Clarissa A. 
 Bowne, Jennie Gale. 
 Bowne, Margaret Anna. 
 Brackebush, Jennie F. 
 Brackebush, Louise M. 
 Brackebush, Teressa V. 
 Bradley, Theo. F. 
 Bradley, Mrs. Theo. F. 
 Bradley, May. 
 Bradley, Florence E. 
 Brown, George E. 
 Brown, Mrs. George E. 
 Brown, Fannie E. 
 
 Brown, Susie G. 
 Brown, Gilbert LeRoy. 
 
 Brown, Mrs. Arthur L. 
 
 Brundage, F. N. 
 
 Brundage, Mrs. F. N. 
 
 Brundage, Susie R. 
 
 Brush, Mrs. Hannah. 
 
 Burley, Mary A. 
 
 Burling, E. G. 
 
 Burling, Mrs. E. G. 
 
 Burr, Daniel, 
 
 Burr, Mrs. Daniel. 
 
 Cavalier, Mrs. Joseph. 
 Cavalier, Mary L. 
 Clarke, C. H. 
 Clarke, Mrs. C. H. 
 Clarke, Wm. C. 
 Clarke, Mrs. Wm. C. 
 Clement, Mrs. R. E. 
 Close, Mrs. John W. 
 Cox, Mrs. Mary T. 
 Cox, Howard. 
 Cox, Mrs. Howard. 
 
 Cox, Stephen J. 
 Cox, Mrs. S. J. 
 Cox, Frank E. 
 Cox, Clifton Ray. 
 Crane, Mrs. E. S. 
 Crane, James E. 
 Crane, J. C. 
 Crane, Mrs. J. C. 
 Crane, J. M. 
 Crane, Mrs. J. M. 
 Crane, Abby C. 
 Crane, Theo. A. 
 Crane, Mrs. Theo. A. 
 Crane, Annie S. 
 Crane, Mabel C. 
 Crane, Fannie E. 
 Crane, Grace L. 
 Crane, Mrs. Wallace. 
 Crane, Mrs. Sarah F. 
 Crane, J. Irving. 
 Crane, Ada M. 
 Crane, ]\lrs. Chas. E. 
 Crane, Edward B. 
 Crane, Robert E. 
 Crane, Walter Muir. 
 Cromwell, J. H. 
 Culin, Mrs. C. G. 
 
 Davison, Mrs. Samuel. 
 Day, Chas H. 
 Day, Mrs. Chas. H. 
 Deckhut, Caroline. 
 Deckhut, Elizabeth. 
 Deckhut, Kate. 
 Deckhut, Annie. 
 Denman, John C. 
 Denman, Mrs. John C. 
 
62 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Derby, John L. 
 Derby, Mrs. John L. 
 Derby, J. L., Jr. 
 Derby, Jacob B. 
 Dohrman, Mrs. J. K. 
 Du Mont, Peter. 
 Du Mont, Mrs. Peter. 
 Du Mont, Mrs. H. K. 
 Duncombe, Frank E. 
 Duncombe, Mrs. Frank E. 
 Dunham, Emeline. 
 
 Ely, George G. 
 Ely, Mrs. G. G. 
 Ely, Augustus G. 
 Everett, David A. 
 Everett, Mrs. David A. 
 Everett, Helen Esther. 
 Everett, Edward. 
 Everett, Mrs. Edward. 
 
 Fiske, Harvey N. 
 Fontaine, Mrs. H. T. 
 Foster, N. G. 
 Foster, N. R. 
 Foster, Mrs. N. R. 
 Foster, Mary E. 
 Fox, George F. 
 Fretz, Mrs. C. A. 
 Garthwait, Martha E. 
 Graham, Robt. W. 
 Gray, Elizabeth. 
 Gray, Wm. N. 
 Gray, Augustus T. 
 Gray, William N., Jr. 
 Gray, W. L. 
 Greene, Mrs. G. F. 
 
 Hall, Philip W. 
 Hall, Mrs. P. W. 
 Halsey, Herbert W. 
 Halsey, L. H. 
 Hann, George A.* 
 Hann, Mrs. George A.* 
 Hart, Mrs. E. W. 
 Hart, Alfred V. 
 Hart, Mrs. A. V. 
 Hart, Joseph T. 
 Hazen, Edw. W. 
 Hazen, Mrs. Edw. W. 
 Hedenberg, Mrs. George. 
 Hegeman, Mrs. Harry. 
 Herron, Mrs. R. B. 
 Herron, Annie E. 
 Herron, Essie. 
 Heston, Mrs. E. E. 
 Higbie, Mrs. Wm. 
 Higbie, Mary L. 
 Hillier, Isaac V. S. 
 Hillier, Mrs. Carrie. 
 Hodgson, Mrs. W. C. 
 Hopkins, A. C. 
 Hunt, J. C. 
 Hunt, Mrs. J. C. 
 Hyne, Mrs. E. B. 
 
 Irving, J. N. 
 Irving, Mrs. J. N. 
 Irving, David D. 
 Irving, Mrs. D. D. 
 Isenmann, Annie, 
 Isenmann, iNl aggie. 
 
 Jackson, Ella L. 
 Jeamby, Mrs. P. 
 
 * Garwood Chapel. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 63 
 
 Johnson, E. A. 
 Johnson, Mrs. E, A. 
 Josephs, Emily J. 
 
 Kane, Mrs. John D. 
 Kauffman, Mrs. George. 
 Klase, Mrs. Susan E. 
 Krause, George H. 
 Krause, Mrs. George H. 
 Krause, Grace M. 
 Krause, Florence P. 
 
 Lakey, Chas. D. 
 Lanning, Christina. 
 Lent, David B.* 
 Littell, George W. 
 Littell, Mrs. George W. 
 Littell, Nellie L. 
 Littell, Mary E. 
 Littell, Clara. 
 Lutton, John. 
 Lutton, Mrs. John. 
 
 Madden, H. G. 
 Madden, Mrs. H. G. 
 Marien, John. 
 Marien, Mrs, John. 
 Marsh, Wm. G. 
 Marsh, Mrs. Wm. G. 
 Martin, Hugh. 
 Martin, Mrs. Hugh. 
 Martin, Mrs. Fred. 
 Mathey, Mrs. L. H. 
 Metcalf, George R. 
 Metcalf, Mrs. G. R. 
 Miller, Alonzo W. 
 Miller, J. K. 
 
 Miller, Mrs. J. K. 
 Miller, Jas. C. 
 Miller, Mrs. J. C. 
 Miller, Jas. D. 
 Miller, Elizabeth. 
 Miller, Margaretta. 
 Miller, Mary E. 
 Miller, Libbie L. 
 Miller, Jeptha E. 
 Miller, Mrs. Charles S. 
 Montgomery, Mrs. A. 
 Moore, Jas. G. 
 Moore, Mrs. James G. 
 Moore, Elmer L. 
 Moore, Mrs. E. L. 
 Moore, Mabel O. 
 Moore, Frederick Jas. 
 Moore, Elizabeth Cook. 
 Moore, Ethel May. 
 Myers, George. 
 Myers, Mrs. George. 
 McDanolds, Miss Ella. 
 MacConnell, J. K. 
 MacConnell, C. W. 
 MacConnell, Mrs. C. W. 
 MacConnell, Gertrude J. 
 
 Naylor, L. P. 
 Naylor, Mrs. L. P. 
 Neipp, Rosa. 
 Newman, Mrs. George. 
 
 Osborne, Mrs. D. K. 
 
 Pargiter, Alexander. 
 Park, Noel R. 
 Park, Fred W. 
 
 * Garwood Chapel. 
 
64 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Park, Mrs. Fred W. 
 Park, Helen R. 
 Park, J. Caldwell. 
 Parks, Sadie. 
 Parks, Wm. N. 
 Peniston, Mrs. J. F. 
 Phillips, Mrs. Henry. 
 Pierson, Mrs. Mary. 
 Pierson, Ethel May.* 
 Plummer, Elizabeth C. 
 Plummer, Florence H. 
 Potter, John A. 
 Power, Mrs. E. B. 
 Purcell, Joseph. 
 Purcell, Mrs. Jos. 
 
 Rankin, Mrs. J. C. W. 
 Reed, Mrs. Dora A. W. 
 Reeder, Wm. W.* 
 Reeder, Mrs. Wm. W.* 
 Richmond, Maggie. 
 Rindell, Robert. 
 Rindell, Mrs. Robert. 
 Robertson, J. S. 
 Robertson, Mrs. J. S. 
 Robertson, Miss Mary. 
 Robinson, Mrs. R. B. 
 Robinson, Miss E. M. 
 Robinson, Miss Eva. 
 Robinson, Mrs. W. R. 
 Rosencrantz, Mrs. Marion. 
 Rosencrantz, J. J. 
 Rosencrantz, Mrs. J. J. 
 Rosencrantz, Willard C. 
 Rosencrantz. Waldo B. 
 Rosencrantz, Mrs. Waldo B. 
 Rosencrantz, J. Sabine. 
 
 * Garwood 
 
 Sackett, Eliza D. 
 Sanford, J. Halsey. 
 Sanford, Mrs. J. H. 
 Sargent, Walter F.* 
 Schwegler, Mrs. Alice V. 
 Scott, Ellen. 
 Severns, Mrs. Frank. 
 Shaw, Wesley A. 
 Shaw, Mrs. Wesley A. 
 Smith, Mrs. W. B. 
 Smith, Mabel. 
 Smock, Daniel P. 
 Smock, Mrs. D. P. 
 Smock, Mabel J. 
 Stewart, Helena. 
 Stickle, Susie. 
 Sulzer, Mrs. Chas. F. 
 Sutton, Edwin J. 
 
 Taylor, C. J. 
 Taylor, Mrs. C. J. 
 Taylor, Miss M. 
 Taylor, Lenita. 
 Teller, George G. 
 Teller, Mrs. G. G. 
 Teller, Ida B. 
 Teller, Edna P. 
 Teuber, Annie G. 
 Thomas, Wendell M. 
 Thomas, Mrs. W. M. 
 Thornton, Mrs. H. C. 
 Towl, Burr A. 
 Towl, Mrs. Burr A. 
 Townley, N. M. 
 Townley, Mrs. N. M. 
 Travis, J. M. 
 Travis, Mrs. J. M. 
 
 Chapel. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 65 
 
 Truax, R. M. 
 Tusch, Mrs. Albert. 
 Tusch, Albert, Jr. 
 Tusch, Wilbur. 
 
 Valentine, F. H. 
 Valentine, :\Irs. F. H. 
 Van Saun, P. D. 
 Van Saun, Mrs. P. D. 
 Van Saun, Henry R. 
 Van Saun, Mrs. H. R. 
 Vigelius, Mrs. Wm. 
 Voorhees, Judson. 
 Voorhees, Mrs. Judson. 
 Voorhees, Harr3^ 
 Voorbis, Mrs. C. G. 
 Voorhis, E. Louise. 
 Voorhis, Alice. 
 Vreeland, Minnie M. 
 Vreeland, Emily M. 
 Vreeland, Mrs. Maggie B. 
 
 Wagner, Minnie E. 
 Watson, Mrs. Grace. 
 
 Watson, George A. 
 Watson, Mrs. George. 
 Watson, Lottie. 
 Watson, Jeanie. 
 Westergaard, Christian. 
 Westergaard, Mrs. Chris. 
 Westergaard, Mary. 
 Westergaard, Annie M. 
 Winans, Mrs. Annie C. 
 Winckler, Mrs. F. C. W. 
 Winckler, Marguerite Elise. 
 Winkie, Mrs. Chas. 
 Winne, S. W. 
 Wood, Mrs. W. D. 
 Wood, Fred W. 
 Wood, Ethel L. 
 Woodhull, Mrs. Sarah D. 
 Woodruff, Mrs. P. O. 
 Woodruff^ Fred E. 
 Woodruff, Mrs. Fred E. 
 Woodruff, Marian B. 
 Wray, E. M. 
 Wray, Mrs. E. M. 
 Wrenn, Mrs. T. A. 
 
66 APPENDIX. 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 THE TWEXTIETH CENTURY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 (Address of Rev. W. H. Roberts, D. D., LL. U., at 
 Jubilee Service, Cranford, June 12, 1901. Revised by the 
 speaker.) 
 
 It gives me great pleasure to be present on this 
 historic occasion, and to tender to your efficient and 
 talented pastor, and to you as a congregation, 
 hearty congratulations. As Mr. Greene suggested 
 in his introductory remarks, I have most pleasant 
 and happy memories in connection with this 
 Church, in which I was privileged to serve for four 
 years at the opening of my ministerial career. 
 Your continued prosperity has been a source of 
 joy to me, and I have remembered you always in 
 my prayers. Wishing you yet greater prosperity 
 in the future than in the past, I invite you to con- 
 sideration of the subject which has been assigned 
 me for an address, viz.: "The Twentieth Century 
 Presbyterian Church." 
 
 In dealing with this subject, it is well to recall 
 some of the characteristics of our Church which 
 have been features of its life during its entire ex- 
 istence. 
 
 (i) This Church of ours sprang into being on 
 American soil, and has been from its first estabhsh- 
 
APPENDIX. 67 
 
 ment a Church independent of all Churches in for- 
 eign lands. American in its origin, it has always 
 been in full sympathy and complete adjustment 
 with American ideas and the development of the 
 American nation. 
 
 (2) Our Church, further, was historically the 
 first of American republics. Its General Pres- 
 bytery antedated by three-quarters of a century the 
 Continental Congress. It represented, for that 
 period of time before American independence, all 
 the ideas in which as a nation we believe and which 
 make us to differ from other nations. The oldest 
 of American republics, it contributed more than 
 any other ecclesiastical institution during the sev- 
 enteenth and eighteenth centuries to the forces 
 w^hich brought about American independence. 
 
 (3) It has been from the first a Church maintaining 
 the right of all citizens to education. Harvard, Yale, 
 and Princeton Universities were founded by men 
 who believed in the Westminster Confession. If 
 they were not all Presbyterians, the early Fathers 
 of this Republic were all Calvinists, and in the 
 United States, as in other lands, Calvinism and 
 popular education have gone forward hand in hand. 
 
 (4) Our Church has been faithful to its convic- 
 tions as to truth. It has magnified the Word of 
 God above all other sources of truth, as the only 
 infallible rule of faith and conduct. It has clung 
 tenaciously to the Bible as its supreme Creed, and 
 has resolutely maintained what is called the Cal- 
 vinistic system as being the Biblical system of truth. 
 
68 APPENDIX. 
 
 (5) While strenuous in its maintenance of what 
 it beHeves to be truth, our Church has been tlior- 
 oughly evangeHcal in its spirit and conduct. The 
 first Presbytery at its first recorded meetings took 
 steps to send home missionaries to what were re- 
 garded as the spirituahy destitute places of the 
 country; and among these was the very region in 
 which this church is now located. Its Home Mis- 
 sions are to-day found in every State and Territory 
 of our own land, and its Foreign Missions in fifteen 
 different countries. As General Benjamin Harri- 
 son has said, " Though it has made no boast nor 
 shout, it has yet been an aggressive Church; it has 
 been a missionary Church from the beginning." 
 
 (6) It has been a Church cherishing a true 
 catholicity. No Church exists which can rightly 
 claim as exclusive property the name catholic or 
 universal, but every Church ought to evince the 
 possession of a catholic spirit. This spirit is a 
 marked feature of the American Presbyterian 
 Church. In the Confession of Faith these words 
 appear: " It is the duty of civil magistrates to pro- 
 tect the Church of our common Lord, without giv- 
 ing the preference to any denomination of Chris- 
 tians above the rest." Presbyterianism has been 
 synonomous with that true catholicity which cheer- 
 fully accords to others, whatever opinions they may 
 cherish, their full rights of conscience. 
 
 It is fitting next to note the blessing of God upon 
 our Church since its first establishment. It is 
 sometimes said that the Presbyterian system of 
 
APPENDIX. 69 
 
 doctrine cannot be preached, and that oiu* Church 
 lacks certain popular features. Neither of these 
 allegations is true — both are disproved by the facts. 
 God has blessed our Church during the two cen- 
 turies of its existence equally with, and some think 
 above, any other Christian denomination in the 
 country. As you well know, during the nineteenth 
 century our communicants increased from 20,000 
 to 1,000,000; and more than 2,200,000 persons were 
 received into our congregations on confession of 
 faith in the course of the one hundred years from 
 1801 to 1900. In the great missionary advances of 
 the century, both on the home and foreign fields, 
 our Church has been in the van, and has been so 
 prospered of God that there are twice as many 
 communicants in our Foreign Mission churches to- 
 day as there were in the wdiole United States in 
 1801. Other facts w^hich might be dwelt upon 
 there is not time to state, but the historv of our 
 Church during two centuries emphasizes the fact 
 that for the work of Christ in the w^orld, America 
 has been but another name for opportunity. Fur- 
 ther, the Divine favor accorded in the past is a sure 
 foundation of hope for, and new endeavor in, the 
 future. 
 
 We now turn our thoughts toward the century 
 in which we live. What of the Twentieth Century 
 Presbyterian Church? The Twentieth Century 
 Presbyterian Church w^ill not differ in any essential 
 matters from the American church of the nine- 
 teenth, or eighteenth, or seventeenth centuries. 
 
70 APPENDIX. 
 
 The proverb " In to-day walks to-morrow," is for- 
 ever true, and is simply the recognition of the 
 operation of the law of heredity in the sphere of 
 grace, as well as that of nature. Our Presbyterian 
 Church will be as fully in sympathy in this century 
 Avith the developments of American political, so- 
 cial, and religious life, as in any one of the past 
 three centuries. It will continue to be one of the 
 controlling forces in the mental and moral growth 
 of the Republic. Its interest in popular education 
 and other national institutions will grow more in- 
 tense as the necessity therefor becomes the more 
 clear in God's Providence. It will maintain as reso- 
 lutely, in coming years as in the past, the su- 
 premacy" of the Word of God over human thought 
 and human life. Not man, but God, it will rightly 
 insist, is competent to determine what is right and 
 wrong, either in faith or practice. The evangelistic 
 spirit which has characterized it in the past, will 
 be yet more manifest in the future. Our home 
 missionaries have been already for more than a 
 year at work in the recently acquired territories. 
 And the stations in China, made doubly sacred by 
 the blood of martyrs, are already occupied or 
 shortly will be occupied, by devoted servants of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. Conscious of the blessings 
 which God has bestowed upon it, our Church is 
 now engaged in a successful endeavor to make 
 preparation for a more prosperous future, by pay- 
 ing ofif the debts of local churches, by making 
 needed improvements in all the congregations, by 
 
APPENDIX. 7 1 
 
 endowing its educational and charitable institu- 
 tions, and, above all, by a systematic plan of 
 evangelistic work, with a view to full obedience 
 within this land to the Saviour's command to 
 preach His Gospel to every creature. While attend- 
 ing earnestly to its own work for the Master, it will 
 continue further to cherish the broadest sympathies 
 toward all other bodies of Christians; denying the 
 Christianity or the churchliness of no denomina- 
 tion, but working resolutely side by side with all 
 who bear the name of Jesus, in this and in other 
 lands, for the salvation of a lost world. 
 
 Talking the other day with a friend, who is not 
 a Presbyterian, he remarked that our " Church was 
 at once the narrowest and the broadest of the 
 Christian denominations." There is much signifi- 
 cance in the statement. It is narrow, but only as 
 the Word of God is narrow. It insists and rightly 
 so, that there is a broad way which leads to ruin, 
 and a narrow way which leads to life eternal. It 
 is unqualified in its declaration that for adults faith 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ is the irrevocable condi- 
 tion of salvation. It is narrow in its declarations of 
 Scripture truth, as some weak men count narrow- 
 ness, because truth is always intolerant of falsehood. 
 It is narrow, in short, because it is honest, and in- 
 telligent, and obedient to God. 
 
 But it is also broad; broad in its sympathies, 
 broad in its view of the possibilities of salvation for 
 a lost world, broad in its insistence that the will of 
 that God, who is at once a Sovereign and a Father, 
 
72 APPENDIX. . 
 
 is the dominant factor in the destiny of man; broad 
 in inchiding within the certainties of salvation all 
 infants dying in infancy, and other persons in- 
 capable of faith; broad in its proclamation of the 
 Gospel to every creature; broad in its recognition 
 of all Christians as brethren in Christ, and of all 
 men as possible sharers in the joys and glories of 
 the life everlasting. Narrow is our Church be- 
 cause it is true to the law of God, and broad because 
 it is in full sympathy with the love of God. This 
 narrowness and this breadth are certain to char- 
 acterize our Church in the Twentieth Century as 
 in past centuries, and both will make it increas- 
 ingly a power for the moral welfare of this nation, 
 for the salvation of souls, for the inbringing of 
 Christ's Kingdom throughout the world, and for 
 the ushering in of that glorious time, when all 
 enemies, even death, shall have been conquered, 
 and when our Lord Jesus Christ shall reign as the 
 blessed and only potentate over a glorified human- 
 ity and a redeemed universe. 
 
APPENDIX. 73 
 
 APPENDIX VI. 
 
 TPIE SUBURBAN CHURCH. 
 
 (Address of Rev. J. F. Riggs, D. D., at Jubilee Service, 
 Cranford, June 12, 1901. Revised by the speaker.) 
 
 Ix a human body the bony system, the muscular 
 system, and the nervous, respiratory, and vascular 
 systems together, make up one highly complex or- 
 ganism. So, in a church, there is the family idea 
 of mutual aid, encouragement, and counsel; the fi- 
 nancial idea of meeting all obligations honestly out 
 of a common treasury; the ecclesiastical idea of 
 relationship to other churches; and the spiritual 
 idea of soul life, of edification, or relation to God 
 and to His revealed truth. Hence a church, like a 
 body, is a very sensitive and highly complex 
 organism. 
 
 The problem of church polity is — How far can 
 we carry out this theory, and by what methods? 
 The term " Church " is employed in various ways, 
 as when we speak of the " Church of England " or 
 of the M. E. and P. E. Churches. But it may also 
 be used as a convenient term to designate the local 
 body of believers who worship together under one 
 roof, the congregation. In such a community the 
 theory is accepted of '' the greatest good for the 
 greatest number." This is easily stated; but who 
 
74 APPENDIX. 
 
 shall define the limits in any direction. How large 
 ought a church to be in order to secure the best 
 results? When the advantages and disadvantages 
 of extreme types are compared, it seems fair to 
 say that a vigorous suburban church in the vicinity 
 of a great metropolis will be found better adapted to 
 secure good results than any other sort. Look at 
 the huge overgrown churches in a center of popu- 
 lation, and at the feeble church of a hamlet remote 
 from the city, and compare the practical- life of 
 each. 
 
 A remarkable community exists in the neighbor- 
 hood of New York. Within a radius of thirty miles 
 there is a vast population, so distributed in space 
 and yet so provided with means for transportation 
 that a near approach to the ideal of church life is 
 possible. In that region the churches are so or- 
 ganized and controlled that they share to a re- 
 markable extent in both the advantages of the city 
 and of the country. A distinct type of congrega- 
 tional life is here developed, free from some of the 
 peculiar difficulties that beset the extreme forms. 
 It is possible to maintain a high standard in many 
 particulars, and yet to be free from the peculiar 
 burdens that are inherent in other conditions. 
 This becomes possible through a singular blending 
 of the characteristics of city and of country life. 
 No one would deny that a very large church in a 
 great commercial metropolis has certain advan- 
 tages, e. g., in its strong financial condition. But 
 does not such a church pay dear for its vigor in the 
 
APPENDIX. 75 
 
 sacrifice of some other blessings? Is not the fam- 
 ily notion of a mutual relation among the members 
 almost extinct? For example, in that great mass- 
 meeting m London, associated with the name of 
 Mr. Spurgeon, the family idea of a church, as we 
 see it in village life, is absolutely impossible. In 
 many of our large city churches there is no pre- 
 tense of any real acquaintance, or mutual interest. 
 On the other hand, in the very small churches such 
 as abound in agricultural districts, the family 
 ideal can be maintained, for each individual mem- 
 ber knows all the rest. But such a church is usu- 
 ally weak in its treasury, and is at a sad disad- 
 vantage in many other w^ays. 
 
 In a place like Cranford the most favorable con- 
 ditions are realizejd. The congregation is large 
 enough to meet its business obligations easily, and 
 yet not so large as to forfeit the central idea of 
 church life. Mutual acquaintance is possible, and 
 the organization of church work, — the making up 
 of different boards, the election of of^ficers, — is such 
 as to give a definite duty to quite a large number 
 of persons. Thus a relatively large percentage of 
 the members may be identified with the handling 
 of affairs, and so the church is strong in the affec- 
 tions of many individuals. Other things being 
 equal, it is desirable to assign to every man some 
 duty in direct connection with the framework of 
 the congregation. In a vast assembly of a thou- 
 sand members or more, any such scheme is simply 
 out of the question. 
 
76 APPENDIX. 
 
 Our American churches are for the most part or- 
 ganized on the principle of having but a single 
 ordained man in connection with each. If this rule 
 is to hold good, then it must follow that the circle 
 of people attached to each should be small. For 
 no single pastor can possibly do all that is required 
 in a large society, and do the minute work as well. 
 Pastoral visitation in the old sense is practically 
 given up in many of our city parishes, simply be- 
 cause it has become impossible with the advance 
 of other demands. 
 
 Statistics show that there is a very high standard 
 of physical well-being in this suburban community; 
 and we are not surprised to find that the same law 
 prevails in the ecclesiastical world. Given a happy 
 combination of traits, a union of city vigor and 
 country freedom, and surely w^e ought to have a 
 delightful form of experience. History justifies the 
 expectations and the instincts of those who set in 
 motion this train of causes. It is impossible for 
 such a body of people, with their constant coming 
 and going, to get out of sympathy with the active 
 movements of the world. And it is equally impos- 
 sible for them to lose the consciousness which 
 comes to their inmost being through contact with 
 nature, in her purity and beauty — her grass, trees, 
 and warm summer wind. 
 
 It is fair to ask the question, squarely and hon- 
 estly, What do we gain by proximity to a great 
 commercial center? Is there any clear, definable 
 advantage in it? Yes. We are in daily conscious 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 77 
 
 touch with the throbbing-, warm heart of collective 
 humanity, and the keen, intellectual life. W'e gain 
 breadth, generosity, large views, energy of admin- 
 istration, and promptness to take advantage of new 
 conditions. 
 
 Again, What do we gain from an actual resi- 
 dence in the country? We gain a quiet, restful, 
 conservative spirit. There is the very important 
 matter of physical welfare, in which the advantage 
 of the country is instantly apparent to all. Espe- 
 cially is it a blessing for children to have the green 
 fields and the blue sky, as over against the inter- 
 minable brick and stone of a metropolitan resi- 
 dence. 
 
 In considering such questions it should be borne 
 in mind that the old conditions of life have passed 
 away forever. The great increase in population 
 and wealth has introduced a new order of afifairs. 
 Time was when a first-class Xew^ York City man 
 of business resided with his family in apartments 
 over his own store, and at noon he w^nt upstairs 
 to dinner. His apprentices lodged and boarded 
 with their employer, and the " commutation ticket " 
 was unknown. But that day has passed away like 
 a dream. The population is so enormously increased 
 that both employer and employees must travel 
 to distant points for their lodgings; and the in- 
 flux of commuters into the city in the morning is 
 something to make the w^orld stare. The roar of 
 traffic is tenfold increased, and the demands of 
 trade are imperious, so that the motto is " Sink or 
 
78 APPENDIX. 
 
 swim." Under such conditions it is a rest to body 
 and mind, to soul and temper, for a man to escape 
 from the whirlpool and be a dweller in the rural 
 regions, at least for certain hours out of the 
 twenty-four. And remembering the natural in- 
 firmities of human character, we may regard it as 
 an advantage also from the point of view of social 
 relations. It is better that personal residence 
 should be entirely distinct from all matters of busi- 
 ness rivalries. It is pleasanter for a gentleman who 
 is in the hurly-burly of sharp city competition, that 
 he should not occupy a pew at church next to that 
 filled by his commercial enemy. 
 
 In the comparative newness of these suburban 
 towns there is also a remarkable freedom from the 
 traditional jealousies that are so often the plague of 
 older centers. Family quarrels sadly disfigure the 
 records of some hamlets, and the obligation to 
 carry on the feud is handed down from generation 
 to generation. From all such follies the small town 
 is free when it draws its business life and inspira- 
 tion from a first-class city. This is largely due to 
 the rapid change going on at such points. Men are 
 coming and going, so that there is hardly time 
 enough to develop any serious bitterness between 
 families. A long residence in the same locality is 
 very likely to beget a narrow spirit, when there is 
 no antidote. But the nearness of a powerful com- 
 mercial metropolis is just such an antidote, and the 
 characteristic dangers of a rural life at a wide remove 
 from activity cease to imperil the moral nature. 
 
APPENDIX. yg 
 
 when there is communication of the sort to which 
 we have referred. In a healthy suburban churchy 
 not only men do not quarrel, but they form active 
 and pleasant friendships, they become acquainted 
 in and through the church, and the Hfe, both social 
 and ecclesiastical, is a delightful and a natural one. 
 Is there any serious counterbalancing evil, which 
 tends to cancel the advantages suggested? Not 
 if the circumstances are fairly considered. It is 
 sometimes argued that the suburban type of char- 
 acter is selfish, narrow, and unsocial. It may be 
 true that the typical resident of such a village is not 
 so much inclined to go abroad in the evenings as 
 his city cousin, but we must remember the circum- 
 stances that make it more difficult for him to do 
 so. And the charge of stinginess is completely set 
 aside when we recognize the contrasts, in numbers 
 and in many particulars. It may very well be that 
 the city church gives larger sums in charity; but 
 bear in mind that the city church is from four to 
 ten times as large in its membership. It turns out 
 in many cases where a city congregation is held 
 up to us as a type, that the said congregation has 
 fifteen hundred or eighteen hundred members. 
 Therefore, to make a fair comparison, we ought to 
 take six or eight ordinary suburban churches over 
 against the one, as the basis of comparison. If this 
 were done it would quickly appear that there is not 
 much difference, after all. But the long journey 
 to and fro in the morning and at night does tell 
 in one way. It is not helpful to the prayer meet- 
 
8o APPENDIX. 
 
 ing, the Bible class, the normal class, and the social 
 or fraternal visit. In regard to these matters we 
 must be on our guard, and not allow the demands 
 of business to cut us ofT entirely from the various 
 means of culture provided in our churches. 
 
 God has been very gracious to us in this country 
 in providing the material basis for our prosperity, 
 and in opening up before us the moral and spiritual 
 opportunities afforded by these conditions in towns 
 and villages that cluster about the great cities. 
 May He always keep our American life pure and 
 clean; and when we study the actual present facts, 
 when we look at the churches both as to number 
 and quality, we feel as the great Apostle did when 
 the brethren met him at Appii Forum. '' Whom 
 when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage."