FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, XEW-BRUXj^WICK, X. J. DkMCATKD SiEPTEMBER 27, ls]2 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE DELIVERED AT THE CELEBRATION m mmmxtu urn mmtib ^nmbtxmxn FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J., OCTOBER 1, 1867. EICHARD H. STEELE, D. D. , PASTOR OF THE CUUKCn. New-Brunswick, N. J. : , IPXJSLISIiEir) BY THE COlSrSISXOR'i'. 1867. h!4-4- JOHN A. OKAY i 0FIE6N, PHINIERS, It ANB 18 JACOa STREET, NEW-VC PREFACE. The First Reformed Dutch Cliurcli of New-Brunswick, 'N. J., completed lier One Hundred and Fiftieth year, April 12th, 1867. The precise date of organization was not ascertained until quite recently. No written history of the church has ever been puhlished. The task would have been one of comparative ease fifty years ago. Then the children of the early settlers were still living ; records were in existence which have since perished with the disuse of the Dutch language ; and important documents which would have been of great value in forming our narrative have been lost or destroyed. The recovery of our early book of records, incomplete as it is, has been of incalculable benefit. But I have searched in vain for publications of Rev. Mr. Lej'dt, Jacobus Schureman, Hendrick Fisher, and pa^^ers relating to the controversies during the times of Rev. T. J. Frelinghuysen, which are known to Lave been in existence at the beginning of the century. We have endeavored to produce a history during a long period when there were no records of consistory kept, and have gathered many of our facts from traditions which yet remain with some distinctness among the peo- IV PREFACE. pie. Our work is not complete, hut that we have given to it no small amount of labor will be understood by those who have undertaken similar productions. It will be found to present many facts extending beyond our par- ticular church, and embrace materials relating to the town of interest to all our citizens. The pastor would express his particular acknowledg- ments to his own people who have kindly assisted him in his investigations, and have directed him to sources of im- portant information. He has found the volumes of Wil- liam A. Whitehead, Esq., and the Historical Discourse of Rev. Mr. Corwin, of great value in compiling the early part of his narrative. He is indebted to the publications of Dr. Messier and Rev. William Demarest, in writing his history of the life and ministry of Rev. Mr. Frelinghuy- sen. Dr. W. B. Sprague has kindly given him access to his unpublished volume of the biogra]3hies of ministers of the Reformed Dutch Cliurch, which we hope will soon be issued from the press. His thanks are due to Rev. Mr, Demarest, for translations from the Dutch of letters of Jufvrow Hardenbergh, and for extracts from her journal ; to Mrs. Hanson, for important information in reference to her father. Dr. Condict ; to Hon. Ralph Yoorhees, for pa- pers relating to his ancestor, Minne Van Voorhees, and for the draft prepared by himself and Mr. JN". W. Par- sells, from which was produced the accurate sketch, by Mr. Thomas N. Doughty, of the "Old Stone Church" erected in 1767, and which gave such interest to our An- niversary ; to Mr. John W. Warnshuise, for his assistance in translating our early Dutch records ; and to the surviv- ing pastors especially for their information and encou- ragement in preparing the history. The Historical Discourse, which comprises the main body of this volume, owes its publication to the following PEEFACE. V action of Consistory, commnnicated tlirongli a committee appointed for tliat purpose : "New-Brunswick, October 8, 18G7. " Rev. Richard II. Steele, DD. : " Dear Sir : By the unanimous resolution of Consistory, we hereby thank you for the valuable and interesting Historical Discourse delivered October 1st, 1867, on the occasion of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of our church, and request you to furnish a copy for publi- cation, with suitable notes and appendices, together with the sermon preached on the succeeding Sabbath. " Very sincerely j'ours, Lewis Applegate, Johnson Letson." The Anniversary was celebrated on the day mentioned in the above note, with suitable commemorative exercises. Invitations had been extended to former members of the congregation and their descendants, to unite with us in the services connected with this interesting occasion. On the morning of that day the following Discourse was in part delivered ; but as the material which had been gath- ered was deemed too important to be lost, it is now com- mitted to the press as it was originally prepared. The account of the celebration, with the addresses de- livered on the occasion, forming the second j)art of this volume, was prepared under the direction of the commit- tee, and will be found a correct transcriiot of an Anniver- sary long to be remembered. The pastor sends forth this volume among his people and the friends of the church, with the prayer that this humble effort to produce the history of one of the most important congregations of our denomination, may be the means of awakening within us a new sense of our respon- sibility to the Lord Jesus Christ, and serve to advance the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. Parsonage House, No. 100 George Street, ) New-Brunswick, N. J., December 1, 1867. \ OP THE FIRST PiEFOllMED DUTCH CHUECH, New-Brunswick, October 1, 1807. The following was the Order of Exercises : Znvocaiioii and Headinff the Scriptures . Rev. GABRIEL LUDLOW, D.D. l^rayer. Rev. ISAAC FERRIS, D.D. Singing. Celebration Hymn, Written by Rev. PETER STRYKER, D.D. Jlisiorical Discourse. Rev. RICHARD H. STEELE, D.D. Singing. Ode, Written by Prop. DAVID MURRAY. Senediction . Rev. THOMAS De WITT, D.D. AFTEEll^OOJSr. c4.nthem . BY THE CHOIR. c-lddresses. Rev. THOMAS DE WITT, D.D. Rev. S. M. WOODBRIDGE, D.D. Rev. CHARLES S. HAGEMAN, D.D. Rev. WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, D.D. Rev. p. D. VAN CLEEF, D.D. Rev. DAVID D. DEMAREST, D.D. S^oetn. Prop. DAVID MURRAY. Grayer. Rev. p. D. OAKEY. Doxology . Senediclion . sheading Uie Scrij)hires and frayer. Rev. Prof. JOSEPH F. BERG, D.D. Singing. The Third Jubilee, W^ritten by Rev. JOHN B. STEELE. ,^i.ddress. By Senior Ex-Pastor Rev. ISAAC FERRIS, D.D. Soxology. Senediciion. Part First. SUCCESSION OF PASTORS, Historical Discourse, BY KICHAKD II. STEELE D.D. SUCCESSION OF PASTORS FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, NEW-BRUNSWICK. 1. THEODORUS JACOBUS FRELINGHUYSEN 3. JOHANNES LEYDT, .... 3. JACOB RUTSEN IIARDENBERGII, D.D., 4. IRA CONDICT, D.D., 5. JOHN SCHUREMAN, D.D., . G. JESSE FONDA, .... 7. JOHN LUDLOW, D.D., . 8. ISAAC FERRIS, D.D., . 9. JAMES B. IIARDENBERGH, D.D., 10. JACOB J. JANEWAY, D.D., . 11. SAMUEL B. HOW, D.D., . 13. RICHARD H. STEELE, D.D., 1730 to 1748 1748 ' ' 1783 178G ' ' 1790 1793 ' ' 1811. 1813 • ' 1813. 1813 ' ' 1817 1817 ' ' 1819 1831 ' ' 1834 1825 ' ' 1839 1830 ' ' 1831 1833 ' ' 1861 1863. STORICAL DISCOURS The Scottisli Pilgrim, it is said, in a spirit of pious veneration, visited the graves of those who had died martyrs of religion. His purpose was to refresh his own mind, and revive in the hearts of his countrymen the record of their noble lives, their heroic endurances, and their triumphant deaths. With engraver's chisel,, he went from churcliyard to churchyard over that land of martyrs, and on the fading stone he reproduced the record of their names, their sufferings, and their renown. Our undertakino; this morninc; "will resemble that of " Old Mortality ;" for we are to recall the names and re- vive the record of a noble race of men, who, more than one hundred and fifty years ago, laid the foundation of our civil and religious institutions, and whose early sac- rifices and toils, and earnest piety and devotion, should be held by us in sacred remembrance. I am to give you a sketch of the history of the origin, the progress, the struggles, and the triumphs of the Re- formed Protestant Dutch Church of New-Brunswick. This is the oldest religious organization in this city, re- liable authorities fixing its origin in the early part of the last century, and making it coeval Avith the first settlement of this locality. The period itself is remote and interesting. The most wonderful movements of Divine Providence in the civil and ecclesiastical his- 10 niSTORICAL DISCOUKSE. tory of tlie world were centring around this period, giving an impulse to emigration, and marking out the distinctive character of the early settlers. In England, the nation had not yet subsided from that mighty civil commotion which had elevated William, Prince of Orange, to the throne, and reasserted the supremacy of those fundamental laws of the laud which had so long and tyrannically been disregarded l)y the reigning power. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes, under Louis XIV., had driven into exile more than five hun- dred thousand of the most industrious and learned citi- zens of France, who carried with them the higher type of civilization and religion in wdiich the Protestants greatly excelled, into those countries which they se- lected as their homes. The Dutch Republic, though shorn of its maritime strength, had obtained a supre- macy in literature and religion, as well as in its system of civil toleration, which rendered it the model govern- ment of the w^orld. Matthew Henry had not yet completed his Expo- sition of the Bible. James Saurin had only recently commenced the labors of the ministry at the Hague. John -Wesley liad not yet been raised up to stem the prevailing tide of formalism. In Holland, her divines were justly celebrated for their extensive learning and deep piety, while her universities and schools attracted students from all parts of the world. The celebrated Marck, in his theological chair at Leyden, made this university one of the most renowned on the continent of Eurojoe. Vitringa, noted for his accurate interpreta- tions of the Bible and his eloquence as a preacher, gave celebrity to the institution at Francker. At Utrecht, some of the most brilliant lis^hts shone from the chairs of theology and literature. And in the pulpit we find HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 11 tlie names of sucli distinguished divines as Brakel, Van- derkemp, and Hellenbrook, wliose sound views of tnitli and deep learning still sliine consj^icuously in their voluminous theoloo-ical writino-s. The first Enirlish copy of the Bible had just been published in the Ameri- can Colonies. The third college had just been founded at New-Haven ; one newspaper, 2:»ublished on a half sheet of foolscap, ^vas regularly issued at Boston; the largest city was New- York, a hamlet of about six thousand inhabitants; and the total 2">opulation of the colonies had not yet reached five hundred thousand. There were a few towns located in the Province of New- Jersey, and only two ministers of our denomination in the State.-"^ In compiling the history of this church, I have labored under the difi&culty experienced in other quarters, of the imperfection of early Consistorial records and the loss of important dociunents. By diligent search I have re- covered possession of a volume in the Dutch language, which had been lost for upward of thirty years, con- taining much valuable information. Some important facts are stated in reference to the origin of this church, as also tliat of Six Mile Bun. It contains the names of the first Consistory, a complete list of the original mem- bers, a register of the additions to the church at each communion, and a full record of baptisms. The first entry in this volume bears the date of April 12th, 1717, and we are celebrating the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Reformed Dutch Church of New-Brunswick. It is to be reo-retted that the proceedings of Consistory were not more carefully * Rev. Guilliam Bertholf was the minister of the church at Hackensack and Aquackononck from 1694 to 1724 ; and Rev. Joseph Morgan was set- tled at Freehold and Middletown from 1709 to 1731. 12 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. recorded and preserved, in tlie absence of wliich we sliall Lave to depend upon sucli facts as we can glean from tlie published minutes of ecclesiastical bodies, the historical incidents found in early records, and the tra- ditions of the 2:)eople. Previous to commencing the history of the church, I will be expected to give a succinct sketch of the settle- ment and develoj^ment of the civil history of this city and country adjacent. My labor will consist in arrang- ing materials already in existence, and in bringing to lio-ht some facts which are concealed in civil and eccle- o siastical documents. The earliest instrument fixing the boundary of the State of New-Jersey is a deed or conveyance granted by the Duke of York, June 23d, 1664, to two proprie- tors. Sir James Berkley and Sir George Carteret. In the following year, Philip Carteret, brother of Sir George, came over as governor of this province, and de- vised liberal plans for the encouragement of emigration. His plans were successful, and many families from New- England, enticed by the lil^eral constitution which he had framed, took up lands, and made this their home. These settlements were principally made in that j)ortion of the territory which was most convenient of access from New- York. The south side of the Raritan river was not settled until about twenty years after a lai'ge emigration from New-England had purchased lands and located in the towns of Bergen, Woodbridge, Piscata- way, and Elizabethto^vn. About this time a small colony located at Shrewsbury, and several families from Long Island settled at Middletown, in the county of Monmouth. These were the principal settlements up to this date in this section of the State. On the death of Sir George Carteret, in 1679, the HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 13 whole of East-Jersey passed into the hands of his executors, who continued to cany forward the govern- ment for the benefit of his estate, until a sale of the property should be accomplished according to the pro- visions of his will. This sale was eifected in 1682, to a company of twelve j)roprietors, for the sum of £3400. In order to divide up their interests, and spread infor- mation respecting their possessions, twelve additional partners were I'eceived into the company, to which board as now constituted the Duke of York made a new grant, March 14th, 1G82. Previous to this new arrangement, and while East New-Jersey was still in the possession of the executors of Sir George Carteret, a portion of the territory on which the city of New- Brunswick now^ stands, and above us on the south side of the Raritan, w^as surveyed and laid out into lots. It is to the credit of the early proprietors of our State that the land was purchased of the Indians by honorable and voluntary transactions, and thus the settlers were saved from the jealousies and dangers which other j^ortions of the American Colonies experienced. Such a purchase Avas made in June, 1681, by John Inians & Co., for the benefit of Lady Elizabeth Carteret, " the j^tresent lady proprietrix of the province," of a tract of land embrac- ing about ten thousand acres, called by the Indians Ahanderhamock.'"* This tract of land is described in the Indian deed as lying on the south side of the Kari- tan river, and opposite the town of Piscataway, under- *' The purchase was made of the Indians Quararaark, Sacaniaker, and Camacamo, representing; the Queraniacks and Camacoms. The amount paid was 200 lathonis of white wampum, 10 bLankcts, 20 DufHeld coats, 10 p:uns, 10 kettles— two of them eight gallons — 2G yards stroud waters C:*), 25 axes, 20 pairs of stockings, 20 shirts, 5 made coats, 4 pistols, GO bars of lead, ^ barrel powder, 25 pairs tobacco tongs, 2 ankers cf rum, 2 half- fatts of beer, ^ anker of molasses, 1 trarael, GO knives, 20 tobacco boxes, 25 shot, I- cwt. of bread.— See JRoconls of Proprietors^ Amho'j, vol. ii. lib. i, p. 152. 14: HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. stood to commence at what is now called Lawrence brook, and running along the river to near Boundbrook. A portion of this territory was shortly after surveyed and sold to different parties, and were subsequently known as the Earitan lots. November 10th, 1681, John Inians,'"^' one of this com- pany, and a merchant of New- York, purchased a por- tion of this tract containing twelve hundred and eighty acres, bounded on the north-east by the Karitan river, on the west by Andrew Bowne, south-east and south- west by land not yet survey ed.f This was the first purchase of land in what is now the city of New- Brunswick, the line of which is still preserved in some of our ancient deeds. The starting-point was a white oak-tree standing at the foot of Albany street, opposite the Bell tavern ; thence up the river one mile to a point near the residence of J. Warren Scott, Esq. ; thence in a south-westerly direction for two miles, or near the pro- liertj known as the Bruuson tavern; thence one mile south-easterly to a point intersecting the Trenton turn, pike; thence two miles north-easterly, entering the city along Livingston avenue, to the starting-point at the foot of Albany street. The ten lots immediately north of Inians's patent contained each five hundred acres. J * John Inians, of Raritan river, was appointed a member of Governor Hamilton's Council on September 14th, 1G92. (WhiteJieacrs Bad-Jersey, p. 134.) Nothing is known of his place of residence or his history; but that he was a very extensive purchaser of lands, and a man of great wealth for tlie times, is inferred from his hu'ge transactions found on the Records of Proprietors at Amboy, and volumes of deeds at Trenton. t It is described as beginning at a white oak-tree, from thence running as the river runs eighty chains, thence running south-west one hundred and sixty chains, tlience south-east eighty chains, thence two miles to the tree from whence it first began. The land extending west of the Raritan lots, embracing nearly all the original territory of the Three Mile Run, New- Brunswick, and Six Mile Run congregations, was laid out into four large plots, for a description of which see Appendix I., furnished by Rev. Mr, Corwin. I They were owned by Andrew Bowne, Richard Jones, George Foreman, Joseph Snelling, Andrew Gibb, Gcrshom Browne, Jeremiah Tothill, Joseph HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 15 South of the city, Thomas Lawrence owned three thou- sand acres, embracing the stream which since his pur- chase has been called La^\Tence brook. This tract of land subsequently came into the possession of Cornelius Longfield* and Governor Barclay, while that of Inians was purchased by Philip French,f under whose super- vision farms were surveyed, streets laid out, and build- ing-lots sold. The government of the twenty-four proprietors was so liberal, and contrasted so favorably with the adjoin- ing province of New- York, that settlers began to pour in from every direction, and for the next twenty years the population increased with great rapidity. The landholders used every effort to induce emigration by the liberal terms they offered, the glowing accounts they sent abroad of the salubrity of the climate, the productiveness of the soil, and the peaceful character of the natives. The original settlers in our immediate vicinity were Dutch ;|; and French Protestants, or Hu- Benbrigge, Thomas Mathew, and Edmoncl Gibbon. The map of Mr. Corwin, giving the Raritan lots, was compiled from Eeed's map, 1685, four years after the original purchase, and indicates the rapid changes which were now taking place, as they had nearly all passed into new hands. * This land, constituting a part of the lower section of the city, Longfield purcliased June 6th, 1089, described as lying on the Raritan river, opposite a meadow or marsli belonging to Charles Gilman, about one chain and a half below where a small run of water or brook falls into said river, from thence running south to a brook called Lawrence brook, and by the Indians Piscopock, from thence running down said Lawrence brook to the Raritan river, and along the Raritan to the place of beginning. John Ryder bought one hundred and fifty-four acres of Longfield, March 11th, 17-il, wdiich farm is still owned bj' his descendants. — Parchment Deed of Eyder. t lie owned a large tract opposite the city and in the vicinity. Instead of selling the property he ordinarily leased it, in some instances for two thousand years. Through j'everses during the Revolutionary War he became involved, and assigned his estate to James Parker, whose son, Hon. James Parker, Jr., of xVmboy, gave to the trustees of Queen's College the lot on which the present buildings stand. \ In a letter to the proprietors, March, 1684, Gawen Lowrie represents the Dutch settlers as very numerous, and speaks of a number who are de- siring to take up land and settle in the province. — Whitehead's East-Jersey, p. 289. Several Dutch fiunilies are known to have settled on the Raritan very 10 niSTOKICAL DISCOUESE. guenots,'"^ and we can fix the elate of tlieir occui^ancy of this territoiy as early as 1684. The country hack of us, coverino; the rich farmino; lands of Three Mile Run, Middlehush, Six Mile Run, and onward to the MiU- stone, and both above and below us on the Raritan, was filled up when the central portion of our town was only known after the name of its proprietor as " Prig- more's Swamp." Early residents, in writing to their friends at home, represent the Dutch settlers along the Raritan as quite numerous and industrious. They were principally from Long Island and places adjacent. The prevailing cause of their emigration was the discontent that existed among them in consequence of the oppres- sive measures pursued by the civil authorities, in vex- ing them in reference to their religious preference and belief. These harsh measures drove out of Long Island and the vicinity of New- York a large population, who found in this teriitory, under the more judicious tolera- tion of the proprietors, perfect religious freedom, and room for their love of honest industry. There were other inducements invitino- into our State the Hollanders from New- York. Their motive in emisfration from the fatherland was different from that which prevailed with the Puritans of New-England, and the Scotch and Irish Presbyterians who settled in other localities. The latter were driven out of their country by persecution, and sought in the New World freedom in religious worship. The former had enjoyed early. Ilendrick Vroome, at the landing on the farm of the late Mr. Miindy ; George Anderson, on the property recently Dr. McClintock's ; the brothers Christopher and Jacob Probasco, on what is now the residence of Mr. Liv- ingston. * In our early records we find the names of several French emigrants, among them many undoubtedly of the proscribed Huguenot race, who had Vicen expelled from the kingdom on account of their Protestant principles. De Pcyster, Piappleyea, Van Duyn, La Monies, Le Queer, La Montague, and others. HI3T0EICAL DISCOURSE. 17 ample toleration in tlieir own little republic, and came across the water to "better tlieir condition " and "build up another university tliat should rival Leyden, and another city that should outshine Amsterdam."* Their youth had been spent in a land which had been rescued from the encroachments of the sea by artificial embank- ments, and they had learned the art of industry long before they had encountered the hardships of this new land. Coming over the water Avith such intentions, they naturally sought the best soil and climate, and situations where they could build up their institutions with less fear of molestation. All these advantages the Province of New- Jersey aftbrded, and its very loca- tion reminded them of their former Belgian homes, while the facilities afforded them for sending their pro- duce to the growing markets of Amboyf and New-York bv river communication, uro'ed a new motive for their emigration. Proverbially fond of water-courses, and of the iiat country which reminded them of their old homes in Holland, they bought farms running down to the Karitan as they had opj^ortunity, and showed their Dutch caution by not getting too far inland. The earliest reference we have to tlie particular locality where Xew-Brunswick now stands is in the * See "Oration on the Conquest of New-Nctherland,'' before the Xew- York Historical Society, by the historian, J. Romeyii Brodhead. He says wiih great force: "It was for the true interest of America tliat Xew-York was founded by the Batavian race. That founding; pioduced our own mag- nanimous and cosmopolitan State, the influence of which on our nation has always been so happy and so healthful." t The design of the settlers was to make Amboy the first city of Xew- Jcrsey — the "London of America." A city charter was granted August 24th, 171S, by Governor Robert Hunter. Its fine harbor, eligible situation, and healthy locality would seem to indicate a rapid growth. But, as the historian Smith remarks in 1765, by a fatality it never became a place of extensive trade. Samuel Groom, the surveyor-general at its first settlement in 1683, with an eye to its future history, laments, " If no help comes, it will l)e long ere Amboy be built as London is." — WhiteJuad^s Amhoi/, pp. 2, G, 50, 54:. 2 IS niSTORICAL DISCOUESE. account of a traveler by the name of William Ed- mundson,'"" a minister of the society of Friends in England, who passed through the State with an Indian guide in 1G77, on what was then an Indian path, after- ward erected into a public highway. After crossing the ford at this place at low water, and penetrating inland about ten miles, he lost his way in the Ayilder- ness, and was a whole day in retracing his path to the Earitan river. At night he elicamped in the woods, kindling a lire for protection from the wild animals. This Indian path was afterward erected into an im- portant road, passing through the State from Elizabeth- town Point to a spot on the Delaware river in the vicinity of Trenton. The travel on this route became a matter of so much importance that a grant was given to John Inians and his wife, December 2d, 1697, to ferry passengers across the I'iver, for which privilege he was to pay the annual rent of five shillings sterling.f The place was called " Inians's Ferry" or "The Eiver" for about eighteen years. Probably about this date (1007) a few buildings be- gan to spring up around this centre, wharves were built at the foot of Albany street, and vessels from Amboy and New- York began to make their regular trips. Mechanics set up their places of business for the ac- commodation of theu' neighbors, and enterprising shop- keepers erected their stores and exposed their Avares to the fai'mers who came down to the river for barter or * See WJiiteheaiVs East- Jersey, p. 95. t The ferrj'^ at first provided only for pedestrians and horsemen. Even in 1716, in the rates allowed by "the Assembly, mention only is made of ''horse and man" and "single persons." The facilities for traveling did not develop very rapidly. In 1704, the Nevr-York paper complains that in the "pleasant month of May, the last storm put our Pennsylvania mail a ■ireeh hehind, aiid is not yet coDi'd i«." — Whitehead's Amboy, pp. 209, 273 ; East- Jersey, 102. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 19 news. This was the beodnninsr of our town. The name of "Prigmore's Swamp" had been exchanged for that of "Inians's Ferry" about the year 1697, and now the accession of the House of Bruns^vick to the Biitish throne in 1714, induced the loyal Dutch inhabitants to dignify the \'illage with the name of the reigning family, New-Brunswick. Bobert Hunter, the royal governor of the province, residing at Perth xVmboy from 1709 to 1719, frequently v-isited this place, and eleven years after his return to Europe wrote to his agent, ^Ir. Alexander, for informa- tion in respect to the value of property around Inians's Ferry, desiring to purchase five or six hundred acres, if in his judgment it would prove a profitable investment. Mr. Alexander was very enthusiastic in his description of the place, stating that, during his residence of fifteen years, Xew-Brunswick had grown veiy rapidly, for the reason that the country back of this had improved quite fast. The farmers principally raised wheat, and the facilities of the large mills in the vicinity rendered this an important floiu'ing mart. " As New-Bruns- ^vick," he adds, " is the nearest landing, it necessai'ily makes this the store-house for all the produce that ihey send to market, which has drawn a considerable num- ber of people to settle there, insomuch that a lot of ground is here grown to near as great a price a-s -so much ground in the heart of Kew- YorJc^^^' About this time (1730) several families emigrated fr-om Albany, X. Y. ; and the tradition is, that they brou2:ht with them theii" buildinn; materials, accordins: * WTiiteheafTs Amhoy, p. 155: "In a previous letter, dated in Janu- ary, Mr. Alexander says that ' plantations north of the Raritan had risen extravagantly high, even to three, four, and five pounds per acre, and for a tract of five hundred acres, unimproved land, belonging to Hunter, south, of the Raritan, he had refused twelve hundred pounds.' "' 20 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. to tlie Diitcli custom, and located along the public road, wbicli tliey called, after their former home, Albany street. Among these settlers we find the names of Dirclv Schuyler, Hendrich Van Deursen, Dirck Van Veghten, Abraham Schuyler, John Ten Brock, Nicholas Van Dyke, and Dirck Van Aleu. These were men of considerable property and enterprise, and their arrival gave a fresh impulse to trade. The city was now a p-rowing town of much activity. The principal streets were Burnet, Water, and Albany, Avith perhaps a few buildings on Church street. The inhabitants lived along the river as far south as Sonman's Hill, extending north for about one mile, or a short distance above the ferry. A few of the ancient buildings are still stand- ing, but these will soon give place to more modern structures, and every relic of the olden time will have passed away. The old house recently standing in Bur- net street, near Lyle's brook, known as the projierty of Dr. Lewis Dunham, was built by Hendrick Van Deur- sen, one of the Albany settlers, who owned several acres of land in the vicinity.^"' John Van Nuise, of Flatlancls, L. I.,f bought a farm of one hundred acres of Enoch Freland, April 28th, 1727, having its front on Neilson street, its northern line along Liberty street, its southern along New street, extending west as far as the Mile Run. For this property, in connection with five acres of " salt meadow at the mouth of South river," * He was oflfered about forty acres of land lying below Morris street, and having George street for its'western, and the rear of the lots on Burnet street for its eastern boundary, for $250. Judge Morris owned a large farm on both sides of Commercial avenue. Abeel and Hassert owned twenty or thirty acres above Van Deursen's. t The ancestor of the Van Nuisc family in this country is Aucke Jansen Van Nuysc, M'ho, with his wife, Magdalen Pietersc, and children, emigrated from Holland in 1051, and settled" in New-York. His place of birth is supi)Osed to have been Nuise in Groningen, hence the surname Van Nuise. He was a carpenter by trade, and built the first church of Midwout, (novr Flatbush,) completed in IGGO. — Bergen Family, p. 157. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 21 lie paid tlie sum of £800.'"' In tlie summer of that year lie erected a large farm-liouse on what is now Neilson street, between Schureman and Liberty, and surrounded it with suitable out-buildings. This house was used as the headquarters of the Hessian commander during the occupation of this town by the British army in the Revolutionary War, and is still remem- bered by nearly every middle-aged man. Some of our citizens will remember the Aj)pleby House, a stone edi- fice with gable roof and broad hall, on the corner of Church and Peace streets, now Van Pelt's drug-store ; the Gibbs House, an antique stone mansion built by Hendrick Voorhees, standinsj between Burnet street and the river, near Miller's brook, crossing the street below Town lane ; the French property in George street in front of the hotel near the depot ; and the large apple orchard on the hill, where now stand the buildings of Rutgers College. Perhaps a few may remember the old barracks standing in the rear of our j^resent par- sonage on George street, which were burned in the year I'TO^f We shall have occasion to call up some reminiscences of the past, and will leave this rapid sketch of the city, while we j^roceed in our narrative of the church proper, to which we now turn our attention. There was throuo:hout this section, as in all new settlements, great destitution of religious j^rivileges. The inhabitants, in writing back to their friends, urged ''■' He was bounded by lands owned by Gose Vandenbergh, Court Voor- hees, Roelef Voorhees, Laurence AVilliamses, Stephen Philips, and Siba, Mart and Cornelius Solems. — Deed in j'losscssion of Mrs. James Van Nuise. t The well in Spring alley is still known as the Barrack Spring. After the destruction of the building, the stones were employed in the construc- tion of the " old jail " in Bayard street ; and the same stones now form a part of the foundation of the public school occupying the same ground. — Lr. Davidson's Historical Sketch. 22 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. tliem to encourage ministers to come and settle among tbem, holding out the inducement of a large field to occupy, and of the ability of the people to give them a competent supj)ort. The principal town in the county of Middlesex was Woodbridge, which obtained a char- ter June 1st, 1669, and deeds of land were gi^anted that and the following years to about forty families who had emigrated from New-England. They were mostly from the parish of Rev. John Woodbridge, of New- bery, Mass., after whom they named their town. Ef- forts were made immediately to settle a pastor, but without success until eleven years after, when Kev. John Allen settled among them to the great joy of the people. This was the first religious organization and first minister in our county. '''' As ministers of our denomination were obtained only from Holland, our churches experienced even greater difficulties in procuring 2:)astors than other or- ganizations, and only succeeded after long delays and frequent correspondence with the Classis of Amsterdam. But our Dutch ancestors could not long remain without the privileges of the Church. And although a pastor was not obtained until many years afterward, yet these early settlers had their house of worship, in which they statedly met to hear the Scriptures read by the Voor- leezer^ and where the Lord's Supper was administered perhaps not oftener than once a year. The first buildino; erected within the bounds of our congregation for religious purj)Oses, was about one mile and a half beyond the limits of the present corporation of New-Brunswick, on the lot at the east of the burying- ground, near the residence of Abraham J.Yoorhees. Our * A small church building was erected in 1G74, the first in our county, thirty feet square. — Whitehead's Ainboy, p. 382. IIISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 23 knowledge of tliYt, organization is quite limited, and de- rived mostly from tlie traditions in the neigliborliood- Tliere are no records of Consistory known to be in exist- ence, and no 'allusions to it in ancient deeds and con- veyances. The remnants of its foundation were still remaining within the recollection* of a few who are yet living, and it is described as a building quite moderate in its dimensions, exceedingly plain in its construction, and never completed. The date of its organization is not known, nor has the name of the minister who officia- ted on the occasion been transmitted to us. There is in existence a subscrij^tion paper, recently discovered, bear- ing the date of 1703, on which the sum of £10 16s. Gd. is provided to defray the expenses of a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, to be procured from Holland.* This church may have existed some years before tliat j)eriod, and was probably the first religious organization along the Raritan ; for the great highway following the Indian path, as it is called in ancient deeds, from Inians's Ferry to the falls of the Delaware, was the first point occupied by the Dutch settlers in this section of the State. The families represented in this list resided on both banks of the Raritan, from near Boundbrook to New-Brunswick, and along the route of travel to Rocky Hill. This congregation was known as the church of Three Mile Run. Its prominent elders seem to have been Frederick Van Liew and Hendrick Vroom. The build- * The names of the following persons are attached to the subscription : DolUus Hageman, Tennis Quiclv, Ilend. Emens, Tlios. Cort, Jac. Probasco, Neclas AVyckofF, Mic. L. Moor, John Schedemeun, Nee. Van Dyke, John Van Houten, Wil. Bennet, Foikert Van Nostrand, Jac. Bennet, Hend. Fanger, Ab. Bennet, Cor. Peterson, Philip Folkerson, — avi. L. Draver, George Ander- son, Stobel Probasco, Isaac Le Prierc, Simon Van Wicklen, Cobas Benat, Garret Cotman, Lucas Covert, Brogun Covert, Wil. Van Duyn, Dennis Van Duyn, John Folkerson, Jost Banat. — Eon. Ealpli Voorhees, MUhUebush. 24 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. ing stood for upward of fifty years, and was used for neighborhood services long after the project of making it a separate congregation had been abandoned. This church never enjoyed the services of a settled pastor, although two efibrts are known to have been made to procure one from HoTland. The first attempt in 1703, already referred to; the second in 1729, when a more extensive plan was formed to revive the church and build up a second congregation within our bounds. In the mean time, the town around Inians's Ferry had grown into considerable importance, and, as it was the centre of trafiic and commerce for all this region of country, it was soon felt that there was a demand for church accommodations in this place. Accordingly, instead of completing their building at Three Mile Run, with great prudence they removed to tliis locality, and erected an edifice of larger dimensions for the accommo- dation of this increasing population. This was the first religious organization in the town, and owes its existence to the enterprise and foresight of that portion of the original congregation residing at this j)oint, and occupy- ing farms along the Raritan river. The building was erected, according to an early map of the city, " previous to the year 1717, but how long before is not known." There are reasons for believino; that it was built as early as the year 1714, at which time the j^lace was be- ginning to assume some importance, and gave promise of considerable activity. It stood on the corner of Bur- net and Schureman, then called Dutch Church street, and at that date it was called the church of the " River and Lawrence Brook." The building fronted the river, and occupied the corner lot, subsequently and for many years in the possession of Dr. William Van Deursen. The structure was of "Ivood, and, like most of the early HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 25 churclies, its breadtli was greater than its depth. Its dimensions, according to a plan in tlie volume of records previously referred to, was fifty feet broad and forty feet deep. Tliere were seven pews on eacli side of the pul- pit, and eight along the middle aisle. The total number of pews in the building was fifty, and the church accom- modations was three hundred. It was not completed until several years afterward, and stood upward of fifty years, giving place in 1767 to our second church edifice, erected on the site of the one Ave now occupy. The project of forming a church in this town did not proceed without some opposition. The old congrega- tion at Three Mile Run were reluctant to part with any of their numbers, and those families living still further back in Franklin township urged the impor- tance of all continuing in one organization. Several meetings of the church seem to have been held, and the matter discussed; and on the 12th day of April, 1717, " in order to 2;)revent disturbance and contention, and thereby to establish peace in the church," the following plan was harmoniously adopted: "That the church built near Abraham Bennet shall be considered as belonging to the church of Lawrence Brook and on the River; and that the members of the congregation residino; in the nei<2;hborhood of Six and Ten Mile Run shall also build a church for themselves at either of these places, or at some point intervening, as they may agree." It was also determined that the church at this place and at Three Mile Run should each have a con- sistory, who should cooj)erate with each other; and, '' notwithstanding these two places of worship, the two congregations shall form one church; and in matters of great importance the two consistories shall meet as one body, and transact such business as may come 26 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. "before tliem for tlie establisliment of the Christian church." The arrangement was not intended to be permanent, and seems to have been entered into out of respect to the older members of the church, who could not but feel an attachment to the first house of worship and the original organization. In a very short time this relation probably ceased, and all the services were held in the church of New-Brunswick. In the old book of records, from which the above facts are taken, there is a decision that Koelef Seebring be the elder for the new congregation, and Hendrick Bries and Roelef Lucas the deacons. This number was soon after increased to three elders and three deacons, and the names of the following persons are recorded as constituting the first full Board of Con- sistory: Aart Aartsen, Izack Van Dyk, Roelef See- bring, elders ; Johannes Folkersen, Hendrick Bries, and Roelef Lucas, (Van Voorhees,) deacons. Thus was organized the Reformed Dutch Church of New-Bruns- wick, one hundred and fifty years ago."''* There is also a decision in the same minutes that Pieter Kinner be appointed elder, and Elbert Stoothof, deacon, for that part of the congregation at Six Mile Run. We have a complete list of the original membership) of the church, numbering seventy-three j^ersons, and it is pleasant to notice how many of their descendants are still found amono; our conOTesation. Our register of baptisms begins on the 14th of Au- gust, when three children were baptized : Elizabeth, * As this church is a continuation of the Three Mile Run congregation, which had an existence as early as 1703, there is a propriety in the state- ments made in public documents, that we trace our origin as a religious society to near the commencement of the last century, although we did not have a distinct organization until April 12th, 1717. The Consistory was sometimes ordained at Three Mile Run ; at least, this is known to have been the case in one or two instances. HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 27 dangliter of Jolmnnes Stoothof; Cornelius, son of Mar- tin Salem; and Jan, son of Jacobus Ouke. During the tliree years of vacancy twenty-nine baptisms are re- corded, but who occupied the pulpit during this period we have no information. We know that Rev. Bernardus Freeman, of Long Island, took a deep interest in this church, and through him early efforts were made to obtain a minister from Holland, in connection with three other churches al- ready organized, namely, Karitan,'"^ Six Mile Kun, and North-Branch, now Readington. As the result of this combined movement, there came to this country, commissioned by the Classis of Am- sterdam as the first pastor of this church, January 1st, 1720, EEV. THEODOEUS JACOBUS FEELINGHUTSEN. His ■ name is one of the most honorable in the State of New-Jersey, and the influence that he exerted among the early churches has given to this whole re- gion the name of the " Garden of the Dutch Church." The field of his pastoral charge was very extensive, embracing all the churches in Somerset and Middlesex counties. Very little information in reference to this pioneer of the gospel ministry in this section has been transmitted to us, which is the more surprising from the fact that his descendtints have always lived in this vicinity, and have exerted a great influence in the poli- tical and educational interests of the State. Short biographical sketches have been published at different times, giving the few items of history which have been '•^ The church of Raritan was organized March 9th, 1699. Their first house of vA'orship was not erected until about the year 1730. The Read- ington church (then called North-Branch) was organized in 1719. 28 HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. gathered from tlie personal allusions in the sermons whicli lie printed during Ills ministry, and from the traditional knowledo-e of the inhabitants coverino^ his extensive pastoral charge. To Dr. Abraham Messeler and Rev. William Demarest tlie church is indebted for the valuable information which has been preserved of this most remarkable man. The residence of Dominie Frelinghuysen was within the bounds of this congregation, his grave is with us to this day, and as this was the centre of his cliarge, his history properly belongs to the sketch we are giving. He was born in the year 1691, at Lingen, in East- Friesland, now a province in the kingdom of Hanover, and was educated at his native place under the instruc- tion of Rev. Otto Verbrugge, Professor of Theology and Oriental Literature. He was ordained to the min- istry by Rev. Johannes Brunius at the age of twenty- six, and for about two years was the pastor of a church at Embden in his native country. While thus engaged he received the call from the churches in New-Jersey to labor in this destitute field. The circumstance of his selection by the Ciassis of Amsterdam for this im- portant mission, as related by Dr. Thomas De Witt, in- dicates the hand of God in the gift of the first minister of this church. A pious elder entertained a young traveler, on his way through the town to Embden to assume the charge of an academy in that place. Dur- ing the evening he was so well j^leased with the spirit- uality of his conversation, and his eminent gifts, especially in prayer during family devotions, that he immediately informed his pastor, Sicco Tjadde, that he had " found a man to go to America." In answer to this call he made liis arrano-ements to emio-rate to this HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 29 country, and arrived in tlie city of New- York about the 1st of January, 1720, and on tlie 17tli of that month he occupied the pulpit of Dominie Boel, immediately after which he came to New-Brunswick and commenced his pastoral work. He brought with him from Holland, according to the custom of the church, a school-master, holding also the position of chorister and " Voorleeser," Jacobus Schureraan by name, the ancestor of this family in our State. He was a well-educated gentleman, and noted for his piety. He had the gift of poetr}^, and wrote seve- ral pieces which are said to have displayed considerable genius as well as literary taste and cultivation. They were spoken of about fifty years ago as doing "honor to his memoiy." None of them are known to have been translated into the English language, and with the disuse of the Dutch they have jDrobably long since perished. There is a tradition that he used this gift in a very effectual way against the enemies of Mr. Fre- linghuysen, w^ho commenced very early working their mischievous arts, in consequence of which he incurred their great displeasure. He was a warm friend of the Dominie, supporting him in all his plans ; in conse- quence of wliich there sprang up between them an inti- macy which awakened some opposition on the j^art of the people, who complained of the influence wliich he exert- ed over the minister. They were both unmarried, and resided in the family of Hendrik Reyniersz, in the neigh- borhood' of Three Mile Run. He had been promised in his call five acres of land, which was increased to fifty acres on his arrival, with the use of a parsonage. Quite early in his ministry he was married to Eva Ter- liune, of Long Island, after which he resided at or near the residence of the late John Brunson. About the 80 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. same time Scliureman became Lis brother-in-law by marrying tlie sister of his wife, Autje Terhune, and re- sided near the farm which is known as the Schureman proi^erty. At the time when Mr. Frelinghuysen commenced his ministry, the churches under his care were in a most dej^lorable state. They had been entirely destitute of the stated ministry of the Gospel since the first settle- ment of the country ; and although church organiza- tions existed and houses of worship had been erected, yet, aatihe natural result of the absence of pastoral su- pervision, there must have been a great departure from serious and vital piety. Indeed, this was the charac- teristic of the times, and was the j)revailing mark among all the churches. When we consider that, fdr a period of at least thirty years, the early settlers in this section of the State had only enjoyed such services as could be rendered by neighboring ministers, we are surprised that there should be such a respect for the ordinances of God's house, as we have indicated by the regular administration of the sacraments, and the in- crease of membership to the church. The physical aspect of the country very much resem- bled the morals of the peoj)le. It was wild and uncul- tivated. Dense forests surrounded New-Brunswick ; the streams were unbriclged; the settlements Avere widely scattered ; the roads, with the excejDtion of the main thoroughfare from New- York to Philadelphia, were little more than paths through the wilderness ; and it had all the appearance of a new country. This was the state of things when Dominie Freling- huysen came here in 1720. But he was a man equal to the times, of great energy of character, of large attainments in knowledge and grace, and with a certain HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 31 fearlessness of spirit that enabled liim to go immedi- ately at the hearts of the people. From the sermons which have been j)i'eserved, we gather that he was a warm, earnest preacher, dwelling principally upon the necessity of the new birth, and having a dreadful an- tij)athy to all manner of formalism. He j^reached the doctrines of grace with so much spirituality and direct- ness that the people, who had never had their ho]3es questioned, began almost immediately to raise against him a loud opposition. He was charged by his enemies with j)reachiug doctrines contrary to the standards of the Church, and subversive to the whole spirit of the Gospel. When he insisted on the necessity of experi- mental evidences as a qualification for the Lord's Supper, he is represented as introducing customs con- trary to the principles of the Reformed Church. A very elaborate pamphlet was published by his enemies in the year 1723, setting forth their grievances, and making an appeal to public opinion against the course he was pursuing. The complaint is issued under the sanction of Simon Wyckoff, a deacon of the church of Six Mile Kun, Peter Dumont, an elder at Raritan, and Hendrick Vroom, a former deacon at Three Mile Run. In addition to these names, the signatures of sixty-four heads of families are appended, from all the congrega- tions to which he ministered, with the exception of New- Brunswick. The controversy seems to have been quite bitter, and was continued several years. Indeed, it seems to have disturbed the peace of the church in some portions of his field during his entire ministry. Mr. Frelinghuysen states in one of his sermons, that the violence of the opposition to him had been so great that on one occasion the door of the church was shut a2:ainst him, and he was not permitted to administer the ordi- 32 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. nances. As late as tlie year 1729, a party existed of sufficient strength to make an attempt to bring over from Holland a pastor more after tlieir own mincl. A paper"' was accordingly circulated with an idea of gathering together all the malcontentsf in the old church at Three Mile Run, which is represented to be in a somewhat dilapidated condition, and, if the enter- prise succeeded, they were to repair the old edifice or build a new one in the vicinity of John Pittenger. But the plan failed, and the scheme was abandoned. The church at New-Brunswick did not join in this contro- versy with their pastor, but, so far as documentary and traditional evidence goes, zealously su23ported him, and the result was witnessed in the great prosperity which this church enjoyed. Dominie Frelinghuysen met all this opposition in the spirit of a true gospel minister. He continued at his post, preaching, visiting, and catechising, laboring for the conversion of souls and the edification of the church. "I had rather die a thousand deaths," he says in one of his sermons, ''than not preach the Gospel." And his ministry was eminently successful. Sound in his doctrinal views, searching in his reproofs, and fervent * The subscribers ^yere : A. Boorani, Simon Wj'ckoff, Dennis Van Duyn, Leonard Smock, Cor. Peterson, George Anderson, William Van Duyn, Jac. Boise, Hen. Smock, Chris. Probasco, William Kouenhoven, Jac. Ben- net, Pet. Bodine, Gid. Marlat, William Bennet, Paul Le Boyton, Francis IlaiTison, Ab. Bennet, Isaac La Queer, Jac. Bennet, Nic. Dailey, Ad. Ilardenbrook, Luke Covert, and Jac. Probasco. The committee to procure a minister was Hendrik Vroom and Frederick Van Liew. This subscrip- tion paper, as also that of 1703, were found at Mr. Abraham J. Voorhees, at Three Mile Run, and are now in the possession of Hon. Balph Voorhees ; they had been preserved in the Van Liew family, and are all that we have of the old church. t Rev. Vicentius Antonides, from Long Island, encouraged the disaf- fected party, and as late as May 9th, 1734, he ordained a Consistory for the Three Mile Run church, composed of Simon Wyckoff and Hendrick Vroom, elders; Simon Van Wicklen and Dennis Van Duyn, deacons ; also for North-Branch, Daniel Sebring and Peter Kinney, elders ; and William Rosse and Francis AValdron, deacons. — Records Harlingen Consistory. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 33 in his appeals, lie won many souls to Christ, and laid foundations which have not yet passed away. Through- out his whole field of labor, he enjoyed as the fruit of his ministry several revivals of religion. At Raritan, he was eminently successful in the ingathering of the people and the establishment of the church. Our own records are incomplete, but the evidence of our history is, that he was instrumental in s-atherino; toQ-ether a large congregation. About six years after Mr. Frelinghuysen's settlement in Ne^\--Brimswick, namely, in 1*726, Rev. Gilbert Ten- nent arrived in this place, and was installed the first pas- tor of the Presbyterian church. He remained in this city about seventeen years, and was regarded as a man of very eminent abilities, es^^ecially distinguished for his pulpit talents. The first church edifice of this denomi- nation was erected in lYSY, and stood on the same street with the Dutch church below Lyle's brook, on the ground novv^ occupied by houses No. 142 and 144 Burnet street. Mr. Tennent's residence was at No. 168 of the same street, since taken down, in which his brother William had the remarkable trance, on his recovery from which it ^vas found that he liad lost all recollection of previous events, and even had forgotten the name of the Bible. These two ]Srew-Bruns\7ick pastors lived on terms of great friendship, and indeed of intimacy. They found in each other congenial dispositions ; and, judging from their published discourses, they were men of similar characteristics. They were both earnest and forcible in delivery, and pungent in their application of the truth. In a* letter of Mr. Tennent to Rev. Mr, Prince, a histo- rian of Boston, in 1744, one year after he had left this city, he gives this testimony : " The labors of Rev. Mr. 3 34: HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Frelingliuysen, a Dutch Calvinist minister, were mucli blessed to tlie people of New-Brunswick and places adjacent, especially about the time of his coming among them, which was about twenty-four years ago. When I came there, which was about seven years after, I had the pleasure of seeing much of the fruits of his minis- try; divers of his hearers with whom I had the oj^por- tunity of conversing appeared to be converted persons, by their soundness in principle, Christian experience, and pious practice ; and these persons declared that the ministrations of the aforesaid gentleman were the means thereof This, together with a kind letter which he sent me, resj)ecting the dividing the word aright, and giving to every man his portion in due season, through the divine blessing excited me to greater earnestness in ministerial labors." The eminent evangelist, George Whitefield, paid fre- quent visits to this city, and preached to large congre- gations gathered from this whole section of country. He frequently speaks of New-Brunswick, in his journal, and of the pleasure he enjoyed in the society of Mr. Frelinghuysen. He is very earnest in his praise, and represents him as a sound, fearless, and highly success- ful minister. Mr. Whitefield, under date of November 20th, 1739, writes in his journal: "Preached about noon, for near two hours, in Mr. Tennent's meeting- house, to a large assembly gathered from all parts." On the 26th of April, 1740, he again passed through New- Brunswick, reaching the town about four in the after- noon, " and preached to about two thousand," he writes, " in the evening." " The next day," he adds, " preached morning and evening to near seven or eight thousand people ; and God's power was so much amongst us in the afternoon service, that, had I proceeded, the cries HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 35 and groans of the people, I believe, would have drowned my voice." It was upon this occasion, according to the statement of Eev. Dr. Cannon, received from persons who were present, that Mr. Whiteiield preached in front of tlie Dutch church, in Burnet street, standing on a v/agon, and the immense audience were spread over a meadow sloping down to the river, listening to the sermon. Dominie Frelinghuysen was a member of the conven- tion which met in the city of New- York in April, 1738, with the elder from this church, Hendrick Fisher, who formed a plan to establish an ecclesiastical judicatory, with more enlarged powers than had been enjoyed by the Reformed Dutch Church in this countiy, out of which grew the great conflict in reference to the sepa- L'ation from the Classis of Amsterdam. Althoug-h he :lid not live to take a very active part in this contro- versy, yet, as he was one of the originators of the move- ment, and as it continued to asritate the church for ibout thirty years, even threatening its very existence, 1 brief sketch of the two principles in conflict will here be necessary as a link in the chain of history. Our church, in this country, was not an independent Drganization, but merely a branch of the Reformed Church of Holland, and subject to its jurisdiction. Cases of disci j)line had to be referred for decision to the old country. Candidates who desired to preacli the Gospel were obliged to cross the ocean in order to obtain ordination ; and only such ministers as had been examined and commissioned by the Classis of Amster- lam were permitted to preach in our pulpits. The result was long and vexatious delays in procuring pas- tors, great inconvenience in obtaining the decision of the supreme judicatory, and an outlay of time and ex- 36 niSTOPJCAL DISCOUESE. pense wliicli greatly retarded the growth of our cluircL. In this year (1738) a plan was matured to form a " C;oetus," or an assembly of ministers and elders, who should exercise jurisdiction over the churches in this country, subject to the supervision of the Synod of North-Holland. This was the entering- wedge of separation, and in a short time grew into a demand for an independent Classis, with all the j^owers belonging to the highest ecclesiastical court. But this innovation was most strenuously resisted. The church in Europe opposed the measure as subversive of authority, and some of the older ministers, with their elders, formed an assembly opposed to the Coetus, to which they gave the name of " Conferentie." This w\as the commencement of a strife which has hardly been surpassed in the history of eccle- siastical disputes, and was not finally adjusted until Dr. John 11. Livingston matured a plan of union in 1772, which met the cordial approbation of all who sought the peace of Zion. Mr. Frelinghuysen exerted a great influence in con- nection with this most important measure. Indeed, he was a thorough representative of the Coetus party, while the early controversies through which he had passed prepared him to be a leader on the side of re- form. He was evangelical in his sentiments and pro- gressive in his spirit, and he saw that the interests of the church demanded an independent organization, with all the facilities of school, college, and seminary to pro- vide a well-educated ministry. Although he did not live to see this result, yet he is justly honored as one of the originators of a system which at first greatly agitated but finally prevailed to the establishment and enlargement of the church. There were a few in this HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 87 congregation who sympathized with the Conferentie party, but they never attained any considerable strength, though in other parts of the old charge of Mr. Frelinghuysen the strife was carried on with a violence which it is almost impossible for us to understand.'^^' The Dutch population in the town of New-Bruns- wick received quite an accession between the years 1730 and 1734, by the emigration of several families from Albany, previously referred to in our narrative. Their ancestors had removed to that place immediately from Holland, and their names are found on the regis- ter of church-members as early as 1683. They are uni- formly represented to have been an intelligent and pious class of people, who added very greatly to the streno'th of the church. Families also continued to arrive from Long Island, and settled on the farms along the Kai'itan, both above and below New-Brunswick, and on both sides of the river. From these causes and the increasing prosperity of the congregation, the comple- tion and enlaro-ement of the church edifice was de- manded, and in 1735 we find that the object was ac- complished under the direction of a committee of which Dirck Schuyler was chairman. The amount expended in reseating the church was about £200. * Ilarlingen especially seems to have been an important point in the Coetus and Conferentie difficulties. The original house of worship at the cemetery and the church records fell into the hands of the Conferentie. The Coetus paity, therefore, who could not be limited and restrained by the formalities of the other, erected a new church in 1749 near the present site, and kept a distinct record of their own. Botii records have come down to the present time. On ]\Iay 9th, 1734, Dominie Antonides met some Conferentie friends at the house of RynerVeghte, and ordained a new Con- sistoiy, in opposition to Frelinghuyscn's Consistory, namelj'^, Koert Voorhees and l)aniel Polhemus, elders. This new Consistory secured possession of the chm-cli-books, and hence Frelinghuysen was obliged to begin a new book of I'ccords in 1737. In this is noted the arrival of his son John in 1750, wlio preached his first sermon in that locality, August 19th of that year, in the house of Simon Van Arsdalcn. Ilis first sermon was preached In the church December 2d. — Eev. E. T. Corwin. 38 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, At this date tlie pews were sold under an article of agreement to which the signatures of the heads of families are affixed. We have a jDlan of the building thus remodeled, a complete list of the families in the congregation," and the original disposition of the pews. Among the names I find recorded that of James Hude,f one of the prominent citizens of New-Brunswick, and held in very high esteem. His father was a Scotch Presbyterian, and fled from the religious oppressions of the Old World to enjoy the freedom promised in the New. Mr. Hude filled all the civil offices in the city, and spent most of his life in the service of the govern- ment. He was one of the judges of the pleas for eleven years, a member of assembly in 1738, one of the council of Governor Morris, and for several terms mayor of the city. He was a man of great benevo- lence, and on his death, November 1st, 1762, the New- York Mercury^ in an obituary notice, speaks of him as a "gentleman of great probity, justice, affability, moral and. j)olitical virtues." His residence was in Albany street, in the house known as the Bell tavern, the origi- nal part of which is one of the oldest buildings in the town. Thouo;h he does not seem to have been a com- municant in the church, yet I find his name on the list of families in the con2:ref>;ation, and his children were all baptized by Mr. Frelinghuysen, and appear on our register. On the same list I find also the name of Philip French, who came into possession of Inians's patent, and was a man of great liberality and distinction. One of the streets of our city still bears his name. * For a list of the heads of families at this date, see Appendix II. t WkitehecuVs Amhoi/, p. 374. His daughter Catherine married Corne- lius Lowe, and a daughter of theirs married a son of Rev. Mr. Hardenbergh, the lion. J. R. Hardenbergh. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 89 Tlie name of Jacob Ouke is found on tlie catalogue, one of the orio-inal members of the con2:re2:ation, a prominent elder in the church ; at several times a mayor of the city, and holding an office which had been created by Mr. Frelinghuysen to meet the grow- ing demands of his large charge. In addition to these [lames, there were others who shone with equal emi- nence, the Schuylers, the Van Deursens, the Van Der- belts, the Van Voorhees, the Schencks, and the Van Elarlingens. The list embraces the names of about one hundred heads of families, showing that at this date (1735) there was here a large congregation built up Luider the ministry of Mr. Frelinghuysen. Perhaps no name is more prominent in our early records than that of the distinguished Elder Minne Van Voorhees, one of the ancestors of the large family 3f this name in this section of the State. He came to bins vicinity from Long Island about the year 1715, ind two years after, on the organization of this church, we find his name on our list of communicants. He re- dded at first on the property now known as the Col- lege farm, and was the proprietor of a large tract of [and in that vicinity, including the mills below the 'Atj ; subsequently he removed to New-Brunswick, and resided here until his death, which must have occurred ibout the year 1734. He was a man of great prorai- tience in the church, elected to the office of elder when quite a young man, and a ruling spirit in the congrega- tion. In the controversies which Mr. Frelinghuysen sustained in the early part of his ministry, he found in Minne Van Voorhees a staunch and intelligent sup- porter. From the fact of his cooperation with his pas- tor, the inference is natural that he was of a kindred spirit. Tradition reports him to have been very gifted 40 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. in prayer and exhortation. His memory was so reten- tive that he was able to rej)eat nearly the entire ser- mon after hearing it preached. When Mr. Frelinghuy- sen was exhausted with his excessive labors, he ^vould frequently call upon Minne to take the evening lecture in one of the neighborhoods, and he would conduct the services with great edification. His name was very precious in the church for several generations, and he has left behind him even unto this day a savor of great piety. His descendants were connected with some of the most distinguished families of the city, the Pools, Neil sons, Abeels, Bennets, Schuylers, Van Deursens, and Hasserts.'^' In order to meet the growing wants of his extensive charge, Mr. Frelinghuysen resorted to various expedi- ents. The 2:>lan of a colleague was discussed at a joint meeting of the four Consistories, held at Raritan in 1737, and finally adopted. An address is sent to that Reverend Father in God Schuyhenburg and Jan Stock- ers to send over from Holland a young man, who should act as an assistant to the minister. The call is prepared by Mr. Frelinghuysen, and in his characteristic way he asks for a man of good health, who will be able to endure a large amount of labor, and a willing worker ; but above all, for one who shall be filled with the love of Christ and God's kingdom. He is to j^reach under '■' The ancestor of the family of Voorhees in this section of country is Steven Coerte, or Koers, who emigrated from Holland in 1660, on the ship Bontekoe, (Spotted Cow,) and settled in Flatlands, Long Island. Having no surname, they subscribed themselves " Van Voorhees," or "from before Hees." Stephen Coerte married Wiilempie Roelefse, and died about 1684. His son, Lucas Stevense, married on Long Island, and six of his children emigrated to New-Brunswick and vicinity, and were members of this church at its organization. Hans (Jan) Lucas married Neeltije Nevius; Catryntjc Lucas married Roelof Nevius ; Roelof Lucas married Helena Stoothof; Minne Lucas married Antje Wyckoff ; Wilmetje Lucas married Martin Ne- vius ; Albert Lucas married Catryntje Cornell. — See Genealogy of Bergen Fcmiily, p. 61. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 41 tbe direction of the senior pastor, catecliise tlie children and youth, and 2:)erform j^'^istoral visitation. He is promised a parsonage with fifty acres of land, a horse with necessary accompaniments, and j£80 a year, one half of which shall be paid as soon as he shall be installed. This excellent arranojement did not succeed, the right kind of a man not being found ready to emi- grate to America. On the failure of this effort to secure an assistant. Dominie Frelinghuysen resorted to the expedient of appointing "helj^ers," after the plan of the apostles. (1 Cor. 12: 28.) Men who were gifted in exhortation and prayer, and who had commended themselves by their godly lives to the people, were selected under the sanction of the Consistory, to hold neighborhood ser- vices, to visit the sick, to direct the inquiring, and to be generally useful in the congregation. Indeed, this plan was matured previous to sending the call to Hol- land; for we find m our minutes that, in 1736, a joint meeting of the four Consistories was convened for the purpose of consulting upon the subject, and that appointments were actually made of such extraordinary ofiicers in the church. At this meetina; the followinsi: selection was made: For JSTorth-Branch, Symon Van Arsdalen; for Raritan, Hendrick Bries and Tennis Post; for Six MileEun, Elbert Stoothof; and for New- Brunswick, Hendrick Fisher, Roelef Nevius, and Abra- ham Ouke. The tradition is, that these men were emi- nently useful ; and while the measure was a novelty in the Dutch Church, and, so far as we have learned, was confined only to the pastoral charge of Mr. Frelinghuy- sen, yet it was eminently successful, and tended greatly to the prosperity of the church. These men held the 42 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. office during life, and one of them, as we shall pre- sently see, became a lay preacher and catecliist. On examining the records of our church, I find that there Avas received into its membership, during Mr. Frelinghuysen's ministjy, about sixty persons. Many names are undoubtedly omitted from the list, as some are not found on the catalogue who are known to have been in communion with the church. The largest number received in any one year was in 1741, when there was the addition of twenty-two persons, a most cheering evidence of the divine favor, and a great encourao-ement to that noble minister who had now triumphed over all opposition, and whose work was thus crowned with God's approbation. Although the whole number does not seem to be large, yet it is a fair representation of growth, considering the sparseness of the population, the agitations of the times, and the fact that he received into the communion only those who gave the clearest evidence of conversion. Concerning the events that transpired during the latter part of Mr. Frelinghuysen's life, no record has been preserved, nor is the time of his death or the place of his burial definitely known. In the summer of 1744, he bought of Daniel Plendrickson, of this city, a farm of 200 acres, for which he paid J6550. This property is located at Three Mile Run,* and is a part of the land occupied by the late John Brunson. Here he built a spacious house, a part of the foundation of which was * It is described as being bounded on the south-east by the land of Daniel Hendrickson, north-east by the "pretended line of the heirs or assigns of Peter Sonmans," north-west by David Sequire, south-west and north-west by Cornelius Bennet. — Trenton Deeds. He lived at one time in Burnet street, as I find a reference to his " resi- dence" in an old deed in my possession, but the precise location I have not ascertained. He spent his whole ministerial life within the bounds of this congregation, and his family made this church their religious home. HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 43 used in the construction of the edifice now standing. At this place lie probably resided at the time of his death, Avliich must have occurred about the commence- ment of the year 1748, when he had not yet reached his fifty-seventh year. He is buried, according to all the evidence we can gather, in the old yard of the Six Mile Kun church, and a spot is still pointed out as his last resting-place."* His monument should stand in the ground adjoining our church, and his name should be preserved among the greatest lights of our Zion. The character of his mind is sufficiently indicated by his 23ublished sermons ; his fidelity, by the fearlessness with which he preached the Gospel in its purity and pungency; his success, by the ingatherings which he enjoyed, the foundations which he laid, and the seed Avhich he planted; and his piety, by the savor which yet breathes from his memory. When he came to this field, he found it spiritually destitute and uncultivated. A church had here grown up in this new settlement without a pastor, and, bearing in mind the type of the religion of that age, we are not surprised that there Avas so much of the formal element in the churches. When he was called away, he left behind him a strong body of Christians, who had been brought into the church under a searching Gospel, and who gave every evidence of real godliness. That he was blessed by God in his work is the unqualified * The first house of worship of the Six Mile Run church was built in this yard, and remains of th _• foundation were visible until quite recently. The second building was erected before 1766, for in the survey of the county line, made at that date, it was called the "new church." The tra- dition is, that Mr. Frelinghuysen's grave was under a tree near the centre of the grdund. The aged remember that their parents pointed to the spot as the resting-place of a "great man." Is it not a striking fact that the minister who first broke ground for the Gospel in this new teiritory lies in an unknown grave? Let us cherish his memory, and show him honor by loving, as he did, the pure doctrine of the Gospel. 4A: HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. testimony of our history; and when such eminent men as Gilbert Tennent, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards speak of him as one of the great lights of the American church, we freely accord to him the distin- guished position which he occupies. To their testi- mony I may add that of Dr. A. Alexander, of Prince- ton, who says: "If you wish to find a community cha- racterized by an intelligent piety, a love of order, and all that tends to make society what it should be, seek it among the people of Somerset and Middlesex. And their present character," he adds, " is owing very much, under God, to the faithful preaching of the Gospel under old Dominie Frelinghuysen." The name of his wife has been recently recovered, but no traditions are preserved in respect to her char- acter. But the piety of the household is clearly indi- cated by the character of her children. All of her sons entered the ministry, and her two daughters became the wives of pastors in our church. We attribute this fact mainly to the piety and religious instruction of the mothei', Eva Terhune. They were baptized in this church, and their names appeal* upon our register. Theodore was settled in Albany, from 1745 to 1759. He is rei")resented to have been frank and popular in his manners, earnest and eloquent in the pulpit, and blameless in his life. He sailed for Holland in the year 1759, with the expectation of returning to his field of labor. The date and circumstances of his death are not known.* His memory was very precious in the church of Albany, meriting the tribute 23aid to him of " the apostolic and much beloved Frelinghuysen." His * "A letter has been found, written at New-York on the 10th of October, 1759, which establishes the fact that he sailed on that day, and that gossip and predictions of a fatal voyage were rife, which led to the tradition of his niSTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 45 second son, John, succeeded liis father at Raritan in Angust, 1750, and died very suddenly while on a visit to Long Island, attending a meeting of the Coetus, in 1754. The third and fourth sons, Jacobus and Fer- dinand, died OR their return passage from Holland, of the small-pox, in 1753, and were buried at sea. They were promising young men, and had both received calls, the one at Marbletown, the other at Kinder- hook, N. Y. The iifth son, Hendricus, pursued his studies in this country, and was licensed by the Coetus, and in 1756 settled over the church of Wawarsing;, in Ulster county, N. Y. ; but in a short time he also died from an attack of small-pox, and was buried at Napa- nock. Thus rapidly did these young ministers close their work, just at a time when the whole church was needing the labors of such devoted and godly men. One of his daughters, Anna, was married to Rev. Wil- liam Jackson, who for thirty years was the pastor of the church in Bergen ; she died at the age of seventy- two, in May, 1810. And Margaret became the wife of Rev. Thomas Romeyn, whose only son, Theodore Fre- linghuysen Romeyn, was the pastor of Raritan in the same charo-e of his sfrandfather and uncle, whose short and promising ministry of only eighteen months was brought to a close by his sudden death at an early age, amid the lamentations of a bereaved j^eople. On the death of Mr. Frelinghuysen, the churches under his charo-e had so far increased in strenirth that they immediately resolved to settle two pastors. Rari- tan, North-Branch, and Millstone, now Harlingen, settled Rev. John Frelinghuysen, whose short uiinistry of only loss at sea, and which is nowhere authenticated except by the gan-ulous Mrs. Grant. The tradition seems to have gi'own out of the ominous break- ing down of the bench in the pulpit of a new church in whicli he preached on the Sabbath previous to his departure." — MunseV s Annals of Albany. 46 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. four years was eminently successful. While lie was possessed of much of his father's bold, evangelical spirit, he seems to have been of a more pleasing disposition, although he did not have to encounter difficulties which disturbed the early ministry of his honored parent. He was much interested in the education of young men for the ministry ; and there is still standing in Somerville a house built by him of bricks brought from Holland, where Hardenbergh, Jackson, and others pursued their theological studies. Although party spirit raged very high in his charge, yet his ministry was remarkably blessed by the outj^ouring of the Spirit, and at his death there was great lamentation. The churches of New-Brunswick and Six Mile Hun, very conveniently located, and both of considerable strength, formed an ecclesiastical connection for the settlement of a minister who should devote himself entirely to this field. The choice of the people immediately fell with great una- nimity upon a young man who had just completed his 'studies, and in September, 1748, there was called, as the second pastor of this church, KeV. JoiIAl^JSTES LeYDT. Our knowledge of Mr. Leydt is quite limited, though he labored in this field for thirty-five years. In respect to his early history, I have only been able to learn that he was a Hollander by birth, and was educated at one of her universities — which one is not certain — and that he came to this country with an elder brother, settling at first in Dutchess county, in the neighborhood of Fishkill. He was born in the year 1718. The time of his emigration to America is not known. The first notice we have of Mr. Leydt is in the minutes of the HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 47 Coetus held in New- York on the 28tli of April, 1748, in these words : " The student Leydt, according to ap- pointment, delivered a proposition upon 2 Corinthians 3 : 6-8, and gave such satisfaction that he was likewise received with Van Der Linde to be examined in the morning, after reading the church cei-tificate, from which it appeared that they had been communicants for some years." The Elder Hendrick Fisher vfas a member of this assembly, and presented a letter from the Consis- tory of New-Brunswick, "urging the speedy examination of the student, in order that their congregation, which was vacant, might emj^loy him as a candidate, and, if satisfied, might call him." As permission had been previously obtained from the Classis of Amsterdam, the examination was accordingly proceeded with, and, proving satisfactory, these two young men were sent forth to preach the Gospel. Sep- tember 27th, 1748, a formal call was laid before the Coetus by the Elder Hendrick Fisher; and, having passed his final examination, Mr. Leydt was set apart to the work of the ministry, and constituted the pastor of the churches of New-Brunswick and Six Mile Run. There was great joy among the people in having so soon obtained a successor to the excellent Dominie Frelinghuysen, and who, according to all accounts, was influenced by a similar spirit of entire consecration to the xainistry. I have not been able to ascertain the place of his church relations, nor the circumstances of his introduction into the ministry. It is said that he was a student of Mr. Frelinghuysen, and was well known in the city. The first act of the Consistories was to provide him a home ; accordingly, they purchased a parsonage with fifty acres of land. This property was located at Three 48 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. Mile Kun, and is known as tlie Skillman farm, now in tlie possession of Isaac W. Puinyea. The old house is still standing, a short distance from the road, in which Mr. Leydt lived during his entire ministry of thirty-five years. Great changes had taken place in this town and the surrounding country since the organization of this church. The land had been cleared up and cultivated, more substantial buildings erected, farms increased in value, and the morals and intelligence of the community greatly improved. In 1717, the Dutch church was the onl}' organization in the town; but in 1748 there was a Presbyterian church, of which Rev. Thomas Arthur was the minister ; and the Episcopalian church, erected in 1743, on a lot given by Philip French, of which Rev. Mr. Wood was the missionary ; and all of these congre- gations are represented, to have lived in a spirit of great harmony and Christian cooperation. A very interesting description of our town at this date, 1748, the year in which Mr. Leydt commenced his ministry, is given in the account of a traveler by the name of Peter Kalm, a professor in the University of Abo in Swedish Finland, who visited North- America as a naturalist, under the auspices of the Swedish Royal Academy of Science. " About noon," he writes, " we arrived in New-Brunswick, a pretty little town in a valley on the west side of the river Raritan; on ac- count of its low situation it can not be seen coming from Pennsylvania, before coming to tlie toji of the hill which is close up to it. The town extends north and south along the river. The town-house makes a pretty good appearance. The town has only one street lengthwise, and at its northern extremity there is a. street across ; both of these are of considerable length. niSTORICAL DISCOURSE. 49 3ne of tlie streets is almost entirely inhabited by Dutchmen who came hither from Albany, and for that •eason they call it All^any street. On the road from Frenton to New-Brunswick, I never saw any place in America, the towns excepted, so well peopled."'''" Very shortly after his settlement, Mr. Leydt interested limself in procuring a charter from the royal governor br the churches originally embraced in the charge of Mr. Frelinghuysen. This instrument was obtained un- ler the administration of Jonathan Belcher, Esq., Gov- irnor-in-Chief of the Province of New- Jersey, and was executed on the 7th day of June, and the twenty- dxtli year of the reign of King Greorge II. (1758.) riie trustees under the charter were the two ministers, Rev. Johannes Leydt and Kev. John Frelinghu3''sen, vith the several members of the Consistories of the five churches. The first meeting of the new corporation tvas held at Raritan, October 31st, 1753, when Hen- Irick Fisher, one of the elders of this church, was chosen president of the board, and arrangements made :o carry out the provisions of the charter.f The increase of population in the town, and the popularity of the minister, soon called for more en- ^aro-ed church accommodations. The old buildino; in Burnet street was full, and as early as 1754 the j^lan was ag:itated for the erection of a new and more com- cQodious church edifice in a more central location. An * In some of his statements Mr. Kalm is not accurate. In reference to his "two German churches, one of stone, the other of wood," it is certainly a mistake. The Dutch congregation had hut one building, a structure of wood, in Burnet street. His error is equally apparent in the remark that " the Presbj'terians were building a church of stone." They never had a stone edifice, and there was no church building going on in the town at this date. Tlie statements of travelers in reference to local matters, unac- quainted with the language of the people, and merely passing through a place, are to be taken with some degree of allowance. t See Appendix III. 4 60 ■ HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. article of ao;reement was entered into at tliis time for tlie i^urcliase of a lot on wliicli to erect a new building. But the subject was postponed from time to time, in consequence of a difference of opinion in the congrega- tion as to the proj^er location. One party insisted on remaining in Burnet street and enlarging the old edi- fice, and the other desired a removal into that part of the city which had the prospect of growth. The mat- ter was finally adjusted by the gift of the plot of ground on which our present building is erected, by Philip French, Esq., one of the members of the congre- gation. The deed of conveyance is dated September 12th, 1765. The Consistory was then composed of Hendriclv Fisher, Ferdinand Schureman, and Derick Van Veghten, elders ; Cornelius Seebring, Ernestus Van Harlingen, and Jacobus Van Nuise, deacons. A building committee was immediately aj^pointed, of which John Schureman, son of the school-master, was the chairman, and arrangements made for the erection of the second church edifice of our denomination in the town. The new building was completed and occupied by the congregation in the autumn of 1767, one hundred years ago, when the old church in Burnet street was taken down, and the lot sold to John Schureman. The ground plan of this building is given in our records, the sale of pews, and a complete list of the congrega- tion at this date. The building was of stone, nearly square, and wonld seat comfortably four hundred per- sons. The cost of construction was £1097 13s. 7d. It had a front entrance on Queen, now Neilson street, and a side-door on Prince, now Bayard street. At the south side was a long pew for the accommodation of the public ofiicers of the city, and on the north similar historical" DISCOUESE. 51 ews running parallel with the walls, whicli, it is said, ^ere much sought after, " as one eye could be directed )ward the minister, and the other to any thing that light require attention in the other part of the house." ar off and up in a circular pulpit, supported hj a edestal, was the minister, beneath the old time-honored )unding-board. Two pillars support the roof from le centre, which went up on four sides, ending in a nail steeple. A belP* was put up about the year 775, and the sexton, in ringing, stood in the middle isle, winding the rope during service around one of le pillars. The church was never desecrated with. :oves, but in the midst of winter the good Dutchmen ept up what heat they could by an occasional stamp I the Hoor, and tradition says the Dominie would keep ^arm by an extra amount of gesture. The city presented a far different aj^pearance from its resent aspect. The streets were unpaved ; a swamp <:tended from. Church to New street, affording a fine vating-pond for the boys in winter ; there were a few uildings to the right of the edifice, and only an occa- onal house between this and Albany street. On the ill occupying the ground in the rear of our parsonage- :ood the stone barracks, a commodious building one undred feet in length and sixty in depth, erected in the ear 1758; and the farm of Jacobus Van Nuise covered II that ground now occuj^ied by Schureman, Liberty, ud New streets, extending west as far as the residence f Richard McDonald. This building stood for about )rty-five years ; and, unornamented as it was, it had athered around it rmusual interest. Here your fathers * I have been informed that the bell was taken down at some period dur- ig the war, and buried in the orchard where now stands liutgcrs College,, nd restored to its place after the enemy left the city. 52 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. worshiped ; and from the old pulj^it was preached the true Gospel of Christ. A few are left who remember the edifice well ; but fifty-six years have passed since this venerable structure was taken down, and soon all recollection of it will have passed away. We can picture to our minds the Sabbath morning, one hundred years ago, when the church was completed, and the building was set apart for the worship of God. In the absence of the precise date, we can imagine that this most beautiful season of the year, and this very month of October, was selected for the service. The day opens with a bright sunshine, and the patriarchal head of the house unclasps the huge, old-fashioned Bible, and reads a chapter for the family devotions, comment- ino; on the verses with an abilitv which shows his knowledge of the Sciiptures, and his strong belief in the theology of the Reformation. The day is to be an important one in the church of New-Brunswick, and ' earlier than usual the whole surrounding population are on their wav to the house of God. All the roads leading into the city are Hned with travelers, some on horseback, many on foot, and a few enjoying the luxury of a wao-on-ride over the rouajh and windino; roads. There is no service that day at Six Mile Kun, and the whole congregation are present. Every family in the surrounding country is represented in the throng. The men are attired in their best Sunday garments, low- crowned liats with very broad brims, coats of large dimensions, with plated buttons, polished brightly for the occasion, ruffled bosoms and wristbands, with silver sleeve-buttons, and the more aged in small clothes, with knee-buckles, and a linen neck-tie of 2:)erfect whiteness. The women were modestly and appropriately attired ; the dress was of homespun material of fine texture, ex- HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 53 iremely sliort-waistecl, but not entirely devoid of orna- neiit; their bonnets were large and expansive, witli ;rowns of sufficient size to inclose the most aspiring lead-dress; a neat linen collar, with knit gloves of their )wn manufacture, and a stout pair of shoes completed ;he toilet. Thus attired, the people gather into the sanctuary, rhe building is 2:)lain, and for the times ample in its 3roportions. It is of rough stone, brought all the way Tom Hurl-Gate in sloops, up the Raritan, and they are •itill preserved in the walls of this edifice. The j^ews lave been sold the preceding week ; and, since there is 10 bell in the tower, the signal of a horn announces the lour of worship, while the services are regulated by an aour-glass. The voorlezer takes his seat in front of the pulpit, and, according to the custom of the day, com- nences the exercises by reading the ten commandments md selections from the Scriptures, after which the psalm is read, and for the first time those walls resound ^vith the praise of God. During the singing the min- ister enters the church, bowino; to the ris^ht and left as lie passes up the crowded aisle, pausing for a few mo- Qients with covered face in silent devotion before enter- ing the sacred desk. He is now in his full j^i'ime, having served the congregation for about nineteen years. The hour-glass stands at the right of the minister, by the side of the Bible. While the sermon is in progress, the sand has run out; it is then turned, and the congrega- tion know that a half hour of the discourse is yet to come. But the people listen with grave attention, and are full of reverence. We have the names of all the heads of families. We may suppose that John Schure- man, the patriot and scholar, was present that day, and had a glad time in seeing the building for which he had 54 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. toiled completed ; as also Philip French, who gave the lot, and Christian Van Doreu, Hendrick Fisher, Derick Van Veghten, Abraham Oakey, and Jeremiah Van Der- bilt, former elders of the church, Hendrick Van Deur- sen, with his son William, were in the assembly; so also were Jacobus and James Van Nuise, both young men. Then there were John and Matthew Sleio-ht, and a long list of Voorhees, Roelef, Albert, Lucas, John, James, Garret, Martinus, Matthew, and Abraham ; there were Edward Van Harlingen, John Kyder, Charles Bor- ram, Peter Vredenberg, Matthew Egerton. Abraham Schuyler was also there, giving promise of the useful man which he afterward became. So also the Van Liews, Dennice, John, Hendrick, and Frederick; the Stoothoffs, Whilhelmus, Johannes, John, and Cornelius; the Suydams, Charles and Cornelius; the Outgelts, Fredrick and Johannes ; the Waldrons, Leffert and John. And, while we have the familiar names of Nevius, Spader, Garretson, Van Sickle, Provost, Thomp- son, De Hart, Wyckoff, Van Pelt, and Cortleyou, all represented among us to-day, we have also some which are no longer known in our city, as Hyse, E[ortwick, Standley, Wilton, Probasco, Hance, Kin, and Hassert. All these, with others, listened to the word of God that day. The morning service was followed by an inter- mission of half an hour, and then they all returned to hear another sermon. Thus the Sabbath day passed, closing with the family recitation in the catechism, and evening worship. The services in this church were held on each alter- nate Sabbath, and there is the evidence of great punc- tuality in the administration of the ordinances. Mr. Leydt was a very laborious minister ; and while he does not seem to have left any distinct impressions of his HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 55 pulpit talents, lie is represented to have been very faithful as a pastor. He took a very active part in all the public enterprises of the day. In connection with the organization of new churches, the calling and in- stallation of 2^astors, and the healing of difficulties in congregations, we will find the name of Dominie Leydt. He was a regular member of the Coetus, a constant at- tendant on their meetings, and, from the frequent refer- ences to his name, he seems to have been a prominent and influential member. He took a ^varm interest in this long controversy, and is placed among the number of those who v/ere chiefly instrumental in procuring the independence of the church in this country. He wrote several very excellent pamphlets on the subject, which were answered by the opponents of the measure, and are referred to in the minutes of that body. The Classis of Amsterdam, in their correspondence with the churches in this country, speak of his writings as excel- lent in spirit and argument.'"" At one time he repre- sented the Coetus to the Conferentie party, and was chairman of the committee. In the minutes of the latter body he is represented as being very pointed in his remarks, and as saying some things so piercing that they could hardly keej") silent. On the erection of the General Synod, he was associated with Dr. Livingston in conducting the princij^al part of their business, and at their annual meeting at New-Paltz, in 1778, he was chosen president.f * I have this fact from Dr. Thomas De Witt, but have not seen the minute itself Tills valuable correspondence would have been of service, no doubt, in compilinj:; this history. There is an admirable paper in the collection by ])r. Hardenbcr<:,h, which presents the points of controversy in a strong light. I regiet very much that I could not obtain access to the book of minutes copied from the original under the direction of Synod. We are pleased to learn that all the documents are soon to be given to the public. t See Minutes of Si/ nod, Vol. I. — Giin's Life of Lklngaton, p. 143. HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. Mr. Leydt was one of the prominent movers in the estaljlishment of Queen's, now Kutgers College. This was the favorite object of the Coetus, or progressive and evangelical party in the church. With them an educated ministry was the great want of our American Zion ; as Mr. Leydt expresses it in a letter to Dr. Liv- ingston, " I humbly conceive that, without a regular course of collegiate studies, we shall never make any respectable figure in church or state." The Charter of this institution was procured of Governor Franklin, March 20th, 17T0. In the following year the long con- troversy in which the church had been engaged was finally adjusted by adopting a plan of union, drawn up by Dr. Livingston, which received the approval of the church in Holland, and which dated our separate eccle- siastical organization. The consent was based upon a condition that the Dutch Church in America should make provision in her constitution to provide herself with an educated ministry. The founding of our col- lege was an event that gave great joy to our church. Mr. Leydt was one of the signers of the petition to Governor Franklin for the charter, and was named as a trustee ; as such he attended a meeting of the board at Hackensack, when the location of the college was defi- nitely fixed at New-Brunswick. In the letter to Dr. Livingston, from which I have quoted a sentence, he re- joices over the event in this language : " The great and glorious promise consequent uj)on the noble confession of Nathanael, ' Tliou slialt see greater things than these^ frequently exercising my mind upon fiivorable turns in Divine Providence, with acknowledgment and expecta- tions, hath with some energy of late reverted to my mind with respect to our present situation ; as a door seems to ,be opening, not only for a desirable union HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 5V and fixed order, but also increase of knowledge and ef- fusion of the Holy Spirit." In the same letter lie ap- prises Dr. Livingston of a motion in tlie board of trustees to elect Lim president of the college, and of certain otlier plans to render the institution pros2:)erous and efficient.'"^ We are brou2:ht in the course of our narrative to the commencement of the Kevolutionaiy war, a most inte- resting period in the history of our country and our church. During all these exciting years of conflict Mr. Leydt was the ^^astor of this church, and there are in- dications of great interruption in the growth of the congregation. There had been a steady increase in the number of membership up to the year 1773, but dur- ing the next six years there are no records of additions to the church. The minds of the people were agitated with the din of preparation, the city during a portion of this time was in the possession of the enemy, and for more than a year the services in the church build- ing Avere entirely suspended. Mr. Leydt was a firm patriot, and took a warm inte- rest in the conflict. He preached upon the topics of the day in such a manner as to rouse the patriotism of the people into a j^itch of enthusiasm ; he prayed for the success of the American cause, and counseled the young men to join the army of freedom. New-Brunswick suffered during the war to an extent to which few towns were subjected. It lay in the path of the two armies crossing and recrossing the State, and in the varying fortunes of war was at one time in the hands of the enemy, and at another under the protec- *Mr. Leydt was a member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton Col- lege, and served in that position for six years, under the presidency of Dr. Samuel Finlej^ 58 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. tion of friends. During the winter of 1776-77, the city was in the possession of the British army, who oc- cupied it by a very large force. Lord Howe, the Com- mander-in-Chief, had his head-quarters in the Neilson house in Burnet street; the Hessian commander in the Van Nuise house in Queen street. Fortifications were thrown up on the hill beyond our Theological Semi- nary, and two important out-posts were erected — one at Baritan Landing,on an eminence overlooking the river; the other on Bennet's Island, two miles below the city. Many of the officers were quartered upon the inhabit- ants ; and on the property of William Van Deursen, below New street, there was an encampment with a redoubt thrown up for their protection. Many of the citizens Avere compelled to abandon their residences ; all business was suspended ; public worship broken up, and the whole town under the control of the enemy. The British army immediately appropriated to their own use all the public buildings of the city. The pews were taken out of our church, and it was converted first into a hospital, and after- ward into a stable. The Presbyterian church was burned under the followino; circumstances : On the re- treat of the American army from New-Brunswick, Captain Adam Hyler, with a small force, was the last to leave the to^^m. Hotly j)ursued through the streets by the enemy, he defended himself for a short time behind the walls of the building ; when, overcome by a supe- rior force, he was compelled to abandon his position, and the British fired the edifice, which, being constructed of wood, was partially consumed. Colonel Taylor was in this engagement, and for about an hour was retained as a^ prisoner in the hands of the enemy; but by a bold HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 59 cliarge, lie was rescued from the guard, and returned to liis own party."' The British remained in j)ossession of the city for about six months, and during this period they sent out frecpient foraging expeditions into the country. During the months of January, February, and March, they were shut uj^ in the town, l:)eing cut oft from their base of supplies at Amboy. The army Avas short of pro- visions, and a fleet "was sent up the Raritan to replen- ish their exhausted stores. Lord Cornwallis, who was the military commander of the post, was apprised of this expected relief, and watched eagerly for the ap- proaching boats. Just as they rounded the point below the city, a battery of six cannon, which had been put into position during the preceding night, opened upon them, when five of the boats were immediately dis- abled and sunk, and the remainder returned in a crip- pled condition to Amboy. It v/as at this time that General Howe in person made an attempt to open com- munication by land ; but the expedition failed, and he came near falling into the hands of the Americans.f The farmers throughout this whole section of country were compelled to deliver over their stores into the * The records of their church are supposed at this time to have been destroyed. They were in the hands of an elder, Dr. Moses Scott, who was compelled to take a sudden fliglit, leaving his property in tlieir hands, and barely escaped capture. He was just sitting down to dinner when the ene- my entered the town, who made a feast at the doctor's expense. He was Surgeon-General of the Army of New-Jersej^, and procured a valuable supi)ly of medicines from France, stored away in boxes, all of which fell into the enemy's hands. But they were of no advantage, for a neighbor told them that ihe doctor had poisoned the medicines on purpose to destroy the British, who at once emptied his boxes into the streets. — Dr. David- soil's Historical Sketch, pp. 17, 31, which see, as also for other facts connect- ed wiih the Presbyterian church. t See WkitehcacVs Aml)oy,]i. Ml. Also for other incidents of the Revo- lution in this country. Local traditions are still abundant and distinct. The city which suffered so greatly has an unwritten history which should be preserved. Would it not be well to gather together these items before they perish beyond recovery ? 60 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. Lands of the Britisli.'^- At Three Mile Pain the build- ings were all plundered, and frequently fired. Barns were torn down to supply timber for the construction of a temporary bridge over the Raritan, and some of the most wanton cruelties were inflicted. But they were not allowed to remain in the undis- turbed possession of the town. Colonels Neilson and Taylor gave them constant trouble ; Captain Guest was on the watch for a favorable opportunity to pounce upon the Hessians ; James Schureman, who had learned something of war at the battle of Long Island, gave them no rest ; while Captain Hyler, whose adventures with his whale-boats around Staten Island seem almost romantic, and who could fight on land as well as on water, kept them in constant apprehension. These ofiicers watched every movement of the enemy, drove back their foraging parties into the city, and often skirmished with their outposts. Deeds of personal valor were of frequent occurrence, and traditions are preserved in the families of the town of heroism unsurpassed in the whole history of the conflict. Colonel Neilson organized a secret expedition * The following schedule of property taken from Mr. John Van Liew, of Three Mile Run, will illustrate the ruthless spirit of the enemy, and the hardships encountered by the inhabitants of this region during the war. The list is valuable as exhibiting the price of different articles at the com- mencement of the Revolution, a pound representing $2.50 of our currency. I only enumerate the more important articles taken by " the Regulars :" £. s. £. s. 1 span horses 36 00 38 Albany boards 4 15 1 colt, two years old 12 00 TOO thin Albany boards 2 09 50 bushels corn 12 10 1 house burned 80 00 28 bushels wheat 10 GO 15 bushels potatoes 1 17 Riding chair and harness. . . 15 00 300 cwt. flour 2 14 30 tons of hay 105 00 100 fowls 3 15 9 cows 51 15 8 turkeys 1 00 25 head of sheep 17 10 50 pounds of pork, 5d. per pound. Floors of house and barn taken up. 1 negro, 23 years old, smart and active, £105. HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 61 against the outpost of tlie Britisli on Beunet's Island, now known as Island Farm. With a picked command, numbering two hundred men, he stealthily approached the ^vo^ks on the morning of February 18th, some time before daybreak. It was a clear, cold night, and a fresh fall of snow rendered the undertaking extremely hazardous. But they reached the works without being discovered, and Colonel Neilson was the first man to leap the stockade. Captain Farmer saved the life of his commander at this moment by aiming a well- directed blow at the sentinel, who Avas in the act of discharging his musket into his breast. The short engagement lasted only a few minutes, when the works were surrendered by Major Stockton, who was the acting commander of the post in the absence of Colonel Skinner. One captain, several subordinate officers, and fifty-five privates were taken prisoners, and a quantity of munitions of war were captured. The British knew nothing of the event, as only a few guns were fired, until some time during the morning, when the Ameri- cans with their prisoners and booty were far on their way toward Princeton, where General Putnam was stationed, into whose hands they delivered their spoils. Colonel Neilson and his men received from General Washington a very high compliment for the wisdom with which he had planned, and the secrecy with which he had executed, this most successful expedition. On the 28th of May, Washington, who had spent the previous winter at Morristown, marched his army of 7500 to the heights of Middlebrook. Here he lay for two weeks watching the movements of the enemy at Brunswick, from a joosition which has since been called "Washington's Rock." In the meanwhile the route to Amboy had been opened, both by land and water, and 62 niSTOEICAL DISCO UESE. troops had been pushed forward to this point in large numbers, until by the 12th of June an army of 17,000 British and Hessians was assembled, under those veteran commanders. Generals Howe, Cornwallis, and De Heister. Both the English and German com- manders were agreed that they had never seen a more splendid army, or one so well disciplined and equipped, and in better spirits.* On the 14th, they marched out of the city in the direction of Mid- dlebush, with the design of drawing on an engage- ment with Washington if they could induce him to leave the strong position which he occupied. Re- mains of the fortifications which they hastily threw up are still visible on the farm of Mr. John Wilson. Here the enemy remained until the 19th, when, failing in their design, they returned to Brunswick and made immediate pre2:)aration to evacuate the State. They were pursued by the iimericans, and so greatly har- assed on their retreat that it was not until the 1st of July that they were able to cross over from Amboy to the place of their destination on Staten Island. After their evacuation of the city, the inhabitants returned to their homes and found every thing in a most desolate condition. The work of destruction had been carried on indiscriminately and ruthlessly. The devotion of the inhabitants to the cause of their country had exposed them to the special wrath of their enemies. We have the authority of Governor Livingston for the statement that there were very few whose sjanpathies ^■' " For its numbers, that army had not its equal in the world. Every soldier was eager for a battle." — Bancroft, vol. 9, p. 351. The time was eventful and critical. About the time when these two armies confronted each other, namely, June 14th, Congress adopted the flag of our country. The historian remarks: "The immovable fortitude of Washington in his camp at Middlebrook was the salvation of that beautiful flag." P. 352. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 63 were witli tlie royal cause. In a letter to Governor Bowdoin, of Massachusetts, on behalf of the Presby- terian church, who solicited aid from abroad to rebuild their church edifice, he writes: "With respect to the political principles of the inhabitants of New-Bruns- wick, it may be proper to do them the justice of add- ing that they have, through the whole course of the war, approved themselves firm and distinguished Whigs, and inflexibly persevered in their attachment to the cause of America in the most gloomy and peril- ous times of her conflict with Great Britain." This, as we may well suppose, was a gloomy summer in the town, as well as a dark day for the country. But nothing could discourage the hearts of patriots, and they immediately addressed themselves to the work of rebuilding. Our church edifice underwent a temporary repair, and for some time was occiq^ied on alternate Sabbaths by the Presbyterian congregation, the blackened walls of whose buildino* were left stand- ing below Lyle's brook.'"" Mr. Leydt was immediately at his post, and preached for his peoj)le two Sabbaths in the month of July, the first service which he had been able to hold in the city since the beginning of December. This long interruption had a very sad effect upon all the interests of the church, and the troubles of the times prevented the growth of the con- gregation. Indeed, during the whole subsequent part of his ministry, which was brought to a close in 1783, the town was kept in a constant state of alarm. Captain * The building was not entirely destroyed, but, as the congregation con- templated removing to another part of the city, instead of repairing the old edifice it was sold to Mr. Ilasscrt, who removed it to New street and con- verted it into a dwelling-house. This building is still standing, and is now No. 21. 64 IIISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. Hyler, to whose romantic exploits I liave referred, made this place his rendezvous. He had under his command one gun-boat, the Defiance, and several large whale- boats, with which he would proceed down the Raritan and annoy the trading vessels, transports, and j)lunder- ing parties of tlie enemy around Staten and Long Islands, and in the neighborhood of Sandy Hook. He selected only the bravest men, so expert in the use of the oar that, when rowing at the rate of twelve miles an hour, they could be heard only at ashort distance. He had the faculty of infusing into his men his own spirit of adventure and daring. On one of his excur- sions he captured five vessels, two of them armed, in about fifteen minutes, within pistol-shot of the guard- ship at Sandy Hook. In anotlier enterprise he cap- tured an eighteen-gun cutter, which he was forced to blow up, after removing a quantity of stores and ammu- nition. His plan was to sally out of his berth near the uj^per lock, pass rapidly down the river, make his cap- tures, and dash back again often pursued by the enemy, who made slow progress with their heavier vessels, and dared not to follow him alonar the tortuous channel of o the Raritan. The annoyance was so great that an expedition ot three hundred men, in several boats, was fitted out to proceed to Brunswick, and destroy his whale-boats and recapture some of the ammunition. The plan was car- ried into eftect January 4th, 17S2. The river was clear- of ice, and, proceeding cautiously up the Raritan, they had nearly reached the town, when at midnight Mr. Peter Wyckoff was awakened by the barking of a watch-dog; and, holding his ear to the ground, he heard the measured stroke of muffled oars, and at once con- cluded that an attack was to be made upon the city. HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 65 Rloimtiug a fleet horse, lie gave the alarm to Captain aiiest, and spread the word from house to house, warn- .ng the inhabitants of danger. A scene of great excite- nent nov/ ensued. Lights flashed through tlie town, md in a short space of time all the able-bodied men iVere under arms. But the enemy had reached the ,vhale-boats and set them on fire, when our men came ip, and, driving them ofi", prevented them from accom- plishing their purpose They now found that their )nly safety consisted in a hasty retreat. The night was lark, and a running fight took place in the streets, rhe British endeavored to reach their boats by passing lown Queen street to their rendezvous at the foot of Pown lane. But the}^ were intercepted at the Dutch ;hurch, from behind the walls of which a volley was h'ed as they pressed on, eager only to escaj^e. The )rincipal skirmish took place near Mr. Agnew's ; but hey succeeded in reaching the river, and made their vay back to Staten Island. The enemy's loss in this ncounter was four men killed and several wounded. )n the side of the Americans there was the loss of six )ersons wounded, none proving fatal, and five or six )risoners. A ball was shot through the body of John- ^afey in this skirmish, but the prompt attention of Colonel Taylor saved his life. The enemy completely ailed in the object of their expedition, and Captain lyler was on the water in a few weeks, more daring han ever. He died in this city in 1782; but, strange o relate, no one knows the j)lace of his burial. Some of the members of our congregation took a very ,ctive part in this contest, and their names are honor- ,bly mentioned in the history of the State. Of this Lumber the Elder Hendrick Fisher was most devotedly nterested in the cause of his country. Perhaps ther& Q6 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. was uo man whose influence was greater, or counsel more sought after, during the whole progress of the war. He had been lono; at the head of the affairs of the church, and was the acknowledged leader in the congregation. He was born in the year 1G97, emi- grated to this country when quite a young man, and was received into the membership of this church in 1721, shortly after the settlement of Mr. Frelinghuysen. His election to the office of deacon was resisted by the party opposed to the minister; but their objections were overruled, and he was accordingly ordained. He was a mechanic by occupation, but a man of great in- telligence, who deservedly commanded the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens, and occupied a very prominent place in public estimation. In his private character he was irreproachable, and for nearly sixty years he was a consistent, useful, and active member of the church. The confidence which was reposed in him is indicated by his reelection to the ofiice of elder on several occasions, and his appointment to re- present the church in all ecclesiastical courts. He was a zealous supporter of the Coetus party, a member of the first convention in 1738, and an attendant at each one of their subsequent meetings. On the adop- tion of the Plan of Union, in 1771, his name appears among the delegates ; and, as a member of one of the important committees, he was instrumental in the in- auguration of that new era of reconciliation and har- mony in the church. With all his other attainments, he Avas thoroughly versed in the science of theology, and became a lay preacher and catechist. Some of his sermons were published and circulated among the people, and are said to have been rich in their doc- trinal statements and pungent in their application of the truth. niSTORICAL DISCOUESE. 67 In civil life he took a very honorable and important stand. He was elected a member of the Assembly of this State, and was serving in that capacity at the com- mencement of the Revolutionary war. Although he was at this time quite advanced in life, yet he entered into the contest with great warmth and decision, and is justly reputed to have contributed largely to the suc- cess of our struggle for Independence. Pie was a dele- gate to the Provincial Congress of New- Jersey, which met at Trenton in May, 1775, of which important body he was elected president, and in an opening address set forth in a forcible manner the grievances of the Ameri- can Colonies. He was chairman of the Committee of Safety, exercising legislative authority during the re- cesses of Congress, and held other offices of honor and trust. In his public life, as in his private character, he was without a blot, and evinced in all his acts the spirit of a Christian patriot. While he made himself obnoxious to his tory neighbors on account of his un- compromising loyalty to the cause of his country, and had to go constantly armed in his journeys, yet he was a man of great courage, as well as of integrity. The scattered materials of his history should be gathered together, and his name preserved among the honorable men of our State. The residence of Hendrick Fisher was about five miles above the city, on the road to Boundbrook, and the farm which he occupied is now in the possession of Isaac Brokaw. In an obscure burial-ground, overgrown with a dense thicket, stands a plain brown slab, with the simple inscription, " In memory of Hendrick Fisher, who departed this life August 16th, 1779, in the eighty-second year of his age." Hon. James Schureman was at this time a young man, 68 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. and was in active service during tlie Avar, He iiad gradu- ated at Queen's College about the year 1773, and v^as an accurate scholar. Chiefly by means of his example and eloquence in pleading at public meetings, a company was formed in the town, who enlisted in the army, and served with great credit at the battle of Long Island. He had a command as captain in tlie early part of the war, and was offered a high position in the regular army. But he preferred to serve as a volunteer, and held himself ready to go out at a moment's warning against the enemy. In the daring expedition of Lieu- tenant-Colonel Simcoe, at the head of the Queen's Rangers, from Amboy to Somerville, and thence to Millstone — one of the most brilliant exploits of the war — October 25th, 1779, Captain Guest intercepted him on his return about two miles beyond Brunswick, and attached the party. One man was killed and several wounded ; Simcoe's horse received three balls, and, fall- ing on him, v/ounded him severely, when a militia-man was on the point of piercing him with his bayonet, when Schureman knocked up his musket and took him prisoner. Among the pursuers of the party was a CajD- tain Peter G. Voorhees, a grandson of the Elder Minne, and a brother-in-law of Colonel Neilson, who, in his zeal, got in advance of his men, and was assaulted by the enemy. In his effort to leap a fence at the inter- section of George's road and 'Town lane, his horse be- came entangled, and the British, on coming up, with great cruelty wounded him with their swords, although he was a prisoner in their hands, and left him senseless in the road. He was brought into the city, and sur- vived only a few hours. He was a young man very highly esteemed, a brave officer in the regular army, and the rage of the inhabitants at the brutal murder EISTOEICAL DISCOUESE, 69 was so great that, during tlie night, the town was searched for Simcoe, threatening revenge on his person. He was concealed in the old stone house on the corner of Neilson and Albany streets, from whence he was re- moved to Burlington, where he remained a 23risoner until honorably exchanged. Mr. Schureman was taken prisoner during the war near the Mills on Lawrence Brook, and, after being confined for a few days in the guard-house near the Neilson mansion, he was removed to the notorious sugar-house, in the rear of the Middle Dutch Church, New- York, from whence he made his escape to the American army at Morristown. After the war was closed, he was elected a member of Congress, in 1789, after which he was chosen to the United States Senate for a full term, and again returned to the House of Rep- resentatives in 1812, as colleague with Richard Stock- ton. He served several terms as Mayor of the city, and as a citizen was held in high esteem. He was a grandson of the school-master, Jacobus Schureman, and an infl.uential member of the church. He died January 22d, 1824, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. The confidence in which he was held by the connnunity is attested by the offices of trust to which he was ap- pointed, both in church and state, and, to perpetuate his name, one of the streets of the city w^as called after him, Schureman street. The ministry of Mr. Leydt was brought to a close by his sudden death, June 2d, 1783, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, and thirty -fifth of his pastorate. He preached on Sabbath morning, the day preceding, and was smit- ten down by paralysis about noon. His funeral was attended from his residence, and he was buried in the 70 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. yard at Three Mile Run."^" He was . the pastor of this church for thirty-five years. He left two sons, both of whom graduated from Queen's College, and subse- quently entered the ministry. Matthew was pastor of a church in Bucks county, Pa., and died November 24th, 17S3.f Peter was settled at Ramapo, and died at that jAace June 12th, 1796. J None of the descend- ants of Mr. Leydt are now living. He is described as a short, stout man, of dark fea- tures, very quick in his movements, and in his dispo- sition kind and affable. As a j^astor he is said to have been highly esteemed, and to have had a j^eculiar fac- ulty of drawing around him the young people of his charge. His dress was the clerical costume of the tintes, and in his manners he was a gentleman of the old school and made himself agreeable to all classes. His preaching was in the Dutch language, during the early part of his ministry, exclusively ; in his latter years he preached in English one half the time. His sermons were instructive, and always delivered with a full voice and an earnestness of manner that held the attention of his hearers. He was a good man and uni- versally beloved, and his death was a public loss. The * The graveyard had no connection with the old church at this spot, as it was not used as a place of burial until some years after the building was removed. Mr. Leydt's tombstone stands immediately in front of the gate, with an inscription stating the day of his death and age. His wife, Treyntje Sleight, died December 2d, 1763, aged thirty-six, and is buried by his side. Two other stones mark the graves of his children — Elizabeth, died October 27th, 1760, aged twelve; and Anna, died June 10th, aged seven months. t He is buried in the old ground, at a place familiarly known as " The Buck," near which stood the first church building of the congregation of North-Hampton, Pa. His tombstone bears the inscription, " In memory of the Rev. Matthew Light, who died the 24th of November, 1783, aged twenty-nine years." J In the family burying-ground of Andrew Hopper, on the margin of the river Ramapo, is a plain stone, with the inscription, " In memory of Rev. Peter Light, who was born the 6th of November, 1763, and departed this life the 12th of June, 1796." HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 71 total number of additions to tlie membership of tlie cliurcli diirino; liis ministry was one hundred and twenty-four. The names of several are omitted from the record, and we have no means of ascertaining the actual number of communicants. The times were un- favorable for religious growth, and the War of Inde- pendence effectually checked the prosperity of the con- s-reo-ation. But durino; all these years he had around him a strong body of active and praying men, and a goodly company of helping women. That there were no revivals in his ministry is not a matter of suiprise ; that the church continued in existence during all these troublous times is owing to the grace and power of her Head. While his time was very much occupied witli the public affairs of the church and the nation, in his par- ticular charge he was always diligent. He has left be- hind liim the reputation of being a great peace-maker. The fact that he carried the two congregations through the perilous time of church-building in a spirit of har- mony — one previous to 1766 at Six Mile Run, the other at New-Brunswick completed in 1767, in both instances selecting new sites at a considerable distance from the former localities — would go far to confirm the record. During the period under review the property known as the old burying-ground came into the possession of the church. The southern portion, including and lying below Liberty street, which was opened through it in 1810, was deeded to the congregation about 1729 by Mr. Jan Van Nuise, and was the first public cemetery of the church. On August 1st, 1773, the lot was en- larged by the gift of about two acres from Mr. Dennis Van Liew, deeded to the trustees under the old char- ter, for the benefit of the Reformed Dutch Church. A 73 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. clause in the deed states that " the greatest part of tlie said i^iece of ground was anciently given as a burial- place for the dead, and always has been used for that purpose." During the vacancy that followed on the death of Mr. Leydt, tlie pulpit was supplied by neighboring ministers. On one of these Sabbaths the services were conducted by Rev. William Jackson, the son-in-law of Mr. Frelinghuysen. An anecdote is related of him, which, at this stage of our discourse, will seem quite appropriate. He was a great orator, according to all accounts, but addicted to the unfortunate habit of preaching long sermons. The days were sliort, and in the morning service he had given them a discourse of near two hours in leno^th, and the afternoon seemed to promise quite as long. Darkness was coming on, and there were no arrano-ements for lio-htino^ the buildino; ; when James Schureman gave to the minister a sis^n that it would be ao-reeable to the consfreo-ation if he would bring his sermon to a close. "With great vehe- mence of gesticulation Mr. Jackson cried out in a sten- torian voice, in the Dutch language, " ZU neer^ Jacobus Schureman^ ih zeg zit neer / Paulus jyredikte tot den midder-nacJit P — " Sit down, James Schureman, I say sit down ; Paul preached until midnight." Sixty-six years had now elapsed since the organiza- tion of the church, and from 1720, the year of Dominie Frelinghuysen's settlement, they had enjoyed without interruption the stated administration of the ordinances. But in the summer of 1783 the situation of the church was most perplexing, and some were greatly discour- aged. The excellent pastor, Mr. Leydt, had died, uni- versally lamented, just at the close of the Revolution- ary war. The church building, which had been almost HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 73 destroyed by the enemy, thougli temporarily repaired on the evacuation of the town by the British army, still showed signs of the depi'edations to which it had been exposed. The people were exhausted with the long struggle thi'ough which they had passed, while the business of the city had been entirely suspended. Many of the families had removed into the country to escape the troubles of the times, and had not yet re- turned. The Presbyterian church experienced similar troubles. After the loss of their edifice by fire, instead of rebuilding on the old site in Burnet street, they re- moved to their present eligible situation, purchasing four lots at a public vendue held by the sherift' of the count}^, Abraham Schuyler, Esq., for the sura of £148. But the labor of building the new church did not commence until the following year, when that congre- gation was forced to seek aid from abroad, under a recommendation from Governor Livingston, who repre- sents them as " greatly reduced in number, and injured in property, by the havoc of war." This was the situation of afl'airs in the city on the death of Mr. Leydt. But ]3ublic worship was main- tained with considerable regularity, as appears from the register of baptisms, and the entries made in the almoner's book of collections for the poor. But there was a work yet for this church to do .imder God, who had in store for them a rich gift in their next pastor. On the death of Mr. Leydt, Six Mile Run united with Millstone in the settlement of Bev. John M. Van Harlingen ; while New-Brunswick undertook the sup- port of a minister alone. Bev. Simon Van Arsda- len, of Beadington, was called in 1784, but he could not be induced to accept the invitation, and it was not 74 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. until tlie fall of the following year that they secured the services of the third pastor of this church. EEV. JACOB EUTSEI7 HAEDEISTBEEGII, D.D. The call was sent to him in October, 1785, but he did not commence his ministry until the next spring, at the same time he assumed the Presidency of Queen's College. His father, Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh, emigrated from Prussia in the latter part of the seven- teenth century, and, by purchase, became the proprietor of a tract of land in Ulster county, N. Y., known as the Hardenbergh Patent. Jacob was born at Rosen dale, in 1738. His literary education was not so extensive as might be desired, enjoying only the advantages of the Academy of Kingston. His theological studies he pursued under the direction of Rev. John Freling- huysen, of Raritan. He was licensed to preach by the Coetus, in 1757, when only twenty years of age. His preceptor dying suddenly, he was immediately called to succeed him in his pastoral charge, and in the month of May, 1758, he commenced liis labors in the five united congregations of Raritan, North-Branch, Mill- stone, Beclminster, and New-Shannock. Of t^vo of these conm-eo-ations he was relieved in 1761, In this extensive field he labored with great fidelity during a period of twenty-five years. While at Raritan he en- countered numerous difficulties. At the commencement of his ministry, the church was distracted with the long controversy, which was carried on witli great warmth in his own charge, and his latter years were spent amid the din of the Revolution.* * During the latter part of his ministry the congregation was destitute of a house of worship. Their church edifice was destroyed by fire in 1779, by the British forces under Colonel Simco, and was not rebuilt until HISTORICAL DISCOUESE, 75 He remained at Somerville until the year 1781, when he retired to his native place and served the church at Kochester until his removal to this city in the month of April, 1786. Almost immediately on the death of Mr. Leydt, this church looked to him as his successor, and at the same time the trustees of the college desired his services as its President, electing as his associate John Taylor, the patriot of the Kevolu- tion, Professor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics. With this two-fold charge he labored with intense zeal and devotion, and drew around him a strons; cons-reo-a- tion. Early in the year 1787, the church edifice, which had been temporarily repaired after the destruction of the war, was thoroughly remodeled. The building was reseated and painted, a fence for the first time erected around the inclosure, and burials in the ground com- menced. This was the beginning of a marked period in the history of the church. Dr. Hardenbergh had endeared himself to the people by the influence he had exerted during the struggle for Independence. He had shown a willingness to serve his country by any sacrifice or labor that he could render in her cause. He was the personal friend of Washington, whose headquarters during several months were within the bounds of his congregation at Paritan, and who uniformly attended his church, taking his seat at the head of the elders' pew. On two dififeren'c occasions he was selected by our citizens to deliver the oration at the Anniversary of Independence, and among all classes he was eminently popular. 1788, seven years after Mr. Ilardenbergh's resignation. The sufferings of that community were so great tliai it is not a matter of surprise that they were so long destitute of a sanctuary. 76 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. He was a man of slender frame, and gave early indi- cations of pulmonary disease. His failing health inter- fered Vv^itli liis ministerial work, and he was only sus- tained by great firmness of purpose and a spirit of ele- vated devotion. Admonished by his failing health that his ministry might be sliort, he embraced every oppor- tunity to make the Gospel message tell upon the hearts of his hearers. I have a letter written by him to Dr. Livingston, a short time preceding his death, breathing a beautiful spirit of Christian trust and resignation, and exhibiting the character of a true ambassador of the Lord Jesus. His increasing indisposition led him " to take fre- quent reviews of a life so far spent," and he exclaims : " Oh ! what abundant reasons of humiliation before God has such a poor creature as I am. Blessed be God ! a Jesus is given, is living, is interceding for poor, indi- gent, sinful worms. I am sure, if tliere was not such a plan of salvation provided and irresistibly executed, my hope for a world of happiness would sink into gloomy despair. But on a review of many experiences of pardoning and supporting grace — free, infinitely free grace — my hope for a future happy world receives wings;* and, on renewed views of such a suitable and glorious plan of redemption — views of my dearest Je- sus — I try to mount on high, and now think I would venture with satisfaction into the world of spirits." But in the midst of great feebleness he labored in- cessantly in the cause of his Master and for the up- building of this church. On the 30th of March, 1790, he procured for this church an act of incorporation under the general law of the State of New-Jersey, passed at Perth Amboy, November 25th, 1789, assum- ing the name of " the Ministers, Elders, and Deacons of niSTOEICAL DISCOUESE. 77 tlie Congregation of JSFew-BrunsAvick." The seal of the corporation adopted at a subsequent meeting of Con- sistory has the appropriate device of a burning lamp in the centre, and the words "Dutch Church of New- Brunswick" in the circumference, wdiich was henceforth to be affixed to all legal documents. This is the pres- ent title which we hold in law, and according to which we transact all the temporal concerns of the congrega- tion. But his useful and laborious life was drawing: to a close. In hopes that traveling and a change of climate would administer relief, he spent a few weeks in the months of April and May, 1790, in his native town; but he returned worse than when he left the city, "and was almost determined to relinquish business, and to retire to his farm during the summer season." But he could not abandon the work of the ministry, nor leave his jDost as the President of the college. Again he sought relief in a change of objects, and in rest at Perth Amboy, in attendance upon the Legislature then iu ses- sion. And now he returns so much invio-orated that he is able to preach the preparation sermon on Satur- day, and administer the communion and preach twice on the Lord's Day with comparative ease. " I enter- tain some ho|)es," he writes, " that the God of all grace did not leave himself without some witness." It was his last communion season, and he enjoyed in an un- usual degree the presence and suppoi't of his precious Saviour. " Oh ! how sweet, how comforting the promise," is his language to Dr. Livingston, " tliat he will not for- sake his people. Let us believe, trust, and pray for grace, to be made faithful to our God unto death." And that event for which he was so fully prepared was not far off. His work was now done, and the Master 78 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. was waiting to receive liini. He resigned tlie presi- dency of the college in tlie summer, and died quite unexpectedly on the 20tli of October, 1790, in the fifty- third year of his ao^e. His tomb stands at the east of the pulpit, and the inscription, prej^ared, as we un- derstand by Dr. Livingston, though nearly erased by the action of the elements, gives a most admirable exhibition of his character.* His call to the presidency of the college shows the estimation in which he was held as a scholar and disci- plinarian, as Avell as a divine. His analyses of sermons speak for both the vigor of his intellect and the thor- ouo-hness of his theolooical education. He was a man of strong mind and extensive reading, and in his day was justly regarded as one of. the pillars of the Re- formed Dutch Church. On four different occasions he was chosen President of General Synod, and he was long regarded as second only to Dr. Livingston, with whom he constantly cooperated in all the interests of the church and the colleire. He labored for the estab- lishment of this institution, and by personal applications from door to door, along with Dominie Leyclt, procured the orio'inal funds for its endowment. Several memo- rials to the General Synod urging the claims of the college, written by him, are still preserved, and bear witness to the zeal with which he advocated the claims, * Here lies the body of J. R. Hardenbergh, D.D., late pastor of this church, who departed this life the 30th day of October, 1790, aged fifty- two years, months, and days. He was a zealous preacher of the Gospel, and his life and conversation afforded, from his earliest days, to all who knew him, a bright example of real piety. He was a steady patriot, and in his public and private conduct he manifested himself to be the ene- my of tyranny and oppression, the lover of freedom, and the friend of his country. He has gone to his Lord and Redeemer, in whose atonement he confidently trusted. He has gone to receive the fruits of his fiiithful labors, and the reward of a well-spent life. Reader, while you lament the loss to society and his friends, go walk in his virtuous footsteps ; and when you have finished the work assigned you, you shall rest with him in eternal peace. HISTOEICAL DISCOUKSE. 79 md the aifectlon Avlncli he felt for an institution to tvhich he had devoted his best energies. His last public act was a plea before the Synod, at their meet- ing in New- York, October 5th, 1790, that they would provide means to sustain the college and furnish the 3arly succor so greatly needed. As its first President, be labored under the disadvantages of a small endow- ment, few assistants in giving instruction, and the want 3f proper facilities in the way of library, buildings, and apparatus. But he sent out several able scholars, and laid foundations which have made this cherished seat of learning one of the prominent institutions of our land. As the pastor of this church he had a very successful ministry. On two different occasions there was the un- usual manifestation of God's Spirit in the conversion of souls. The whole number received into the church during the four years of his pastorate M^as sixty-nine. At his first communion he admitted fifteen on profes- sion of their faith, and in the year 1788 twenty -seven were added to the church. Indeed, his whole ministry seems to have been a continual revival, a most blessed close to a most useful and laborious life. He was re- membered by a few of the aged inhabitants when I first settled here, and it would seem that they were not able to speak sufficiently in his praise. He was elo- quent in the pulpit, and impressed every one with his tone of devotional feeling — a minister eminently be- loved by all who knew him. Dr. Hardenbergh was the last minister ot this church who preached in the Dutch language. His plan was to use the Dutch at the morning service and the Eng- lish in the afternoon. From this date all the records of the church are kept wholly in English, and the Dutch passed away forever. 80 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. On liis settlement at Raritan Le married the widow of his preceptor, Rev. John Frelinghuysen, to whose influence he was indebted, in no small degree, for his eminent usefulness. The character which she has left behind her, under the familiar name of the Jufvrow Hardenbergh, distinguishes her as one of the most re- markable women of her day. Dinah Van Berg was born in the city of Amsterdam, February 10th, 1725. Pier father was a wealthy merchant, extensively en- gaged in the East India trade, who reared his family in the midst of all the fashion and reiinement of the me- troplis, but w^ithout any instruction in religion. She became the subject of divine grace in early youth, and was remarkable for her rapid attainments in godliness and unusual exercises of faith. Her naturally strong intellect was developed by her early education, and the vigor of her mind was seen even down to the period of old age. While still residing in her father's house, her attainments in the I'eligious life were so marked and decided as to arrest attention from all who knew her. It is related that on the occasion of her prostration by sickness, though the prospect of her recovery was re- garded as hopeless by the most skillful physician, yet she had such faith in God that he would raise her up, and give her a woi'k to do in the church, that she fixed upon the very day when the progress of the disease would be arrested and her health comj)letely restored. And almost at the hour indicated she started in a course of rapid improvement, and it was always be- lieved by her that God had spared her life in answer to special prayer. She became acquainted with Mr. John Frelinghuysen, then pursuing his theological studies, during this very sickness ; and shortly after, though at first strongly op- HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 81 posed by lier parents, she was united with liini in mar- riage, and embarked for her home in America. The death of her husband, in the twenty -fifth year of his a2:e, brouirht her to the decision of returnino; immedi- ately to her native country. She was upon the point of embarking with her two chikb-en on the voyage to Iloband, vv'hen Mr. Ilardenbergh, who had not yet completed his studies, made her an offer of marriage. Her surprise was indicated l^y the answer, " My child, what are you thinking about ?" Yielding to the soli- citation, she consented to a second marriage, with this young man, who became, as we have seen, a distin- guished scholar and divine, and was, no doubt, a most efficient co-worker with him in the important services he rendered to his country and the church. She was a woman of great intelligence as well as of piety, an extensive reader and correspondent, and her influence w\as felt throughout the whole denomination. For a considerable period she kept an elaborate jour- nal, still preserved, which is said to be superior for its tone of spirituality and of great intellectual vigor. Thus she commences: "It was the beginning of the year 1747; midnight had arrived and passed, and I continued in earnest su2')plication l^efore the Lord, yielding myself anew to walk in his ways, to be en- gaged in his service, and to cleave to his people. My heart went forth in earnest desires after larger measures of the renewing grace of the Holy Ghost. Oh ! that old things might be made more fally to pass away, the power of depravity be brought into subjection, and the blessed image of the Lord Jesus be more ftdly trans- ferred to me, and all things become new. My soul arose in petitions to God for the dear people of the Lord, both at my own place at Amsterdam and else* 6 82 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. where, that God would grant them a renewal of his loviuQ-'kindness and laro;er measures of faith. Oh ! that the Lord would bi'ing many of the people out of their distresses ; that a formal Christianity might pass away, and the power of godliness be made again to appear. For God's ministering servants I also found in my heart to supplicate much assistance in their weighty work, that they might be more and more faithful, and firm in their attachment to the cause, truth, and people of God, and be enabled by a con- sistent and godly walk to be examples to the flock." The following devout exercises on her birthday are recorded in her journal : " Friday, February 10th, 1747, I was twenty-two years old. I awoke with these words upon my mouth, ' I was cast upon Thee.' My thoughts became fixed in intent coutemj^lation upon the wonder- ful dealino-s of God with me even from the first mo- ments of my existence, and I was led to sa}^, ' Many are thy wonderful works towards me.' I was led in de- vout meditation upon the preserving care of God over me, and the wonderful deliverance I had experienced ; upon his bounty to me as to the things of this world ; bnt especially upon the dealings of his grace that i7i my youth he was j)leased to draw me out of the midst of the evil world. I now earnestly desire more en- tirely to consecrate myself unto God, and to yield to him the best of my time and strength." The whole journal is pervaded with a similar spirit, and exhibits a mind in direct and habitual communion with God. Mrs. Hardenbergh has left at her first home in Rari- tan, as well as in New-Brunswick, a name which j^laces her in the highest rank of female Christians. In this city she was a most efiicient aid to her husband in the discharge of his various duties. She visited the sick, HISTORICAL DISCOUKSE. 83 attended to the necessities of the poor, and was a com- forter in homes of affliction. The two services on the Sabbath were held with an intermission of one hour, during which time the country members of the congre- gation would remain until the afternoon sermon. Juf- vrow Hardenbergh employed the interval in j^ious con- versation with the people, and, gathering around her a group of hearers, would frequently enter into an elabo- rate exposition of some point in Christian doctrine or passage of Scripture. She was a warm friend of the college, and on the death of her husband was anxious that a successor should be immediately appointed, and the institution fostered and built up. There is in ex- istence a letter written to Dr. Livingston, July 2d, 1791, in which she pleads earnestly with him to accept the position of president, to which he had been elected, and remove to New-Brunswick. New-York could spare him in view of this more pressing call. She writes : " There are more hopes that that breach would be healed than the one amono; us. Where is there a man for us ? Our Dutch ministers are young men of little experience, and have no publicity in the church, however much otherwise esteemed and loved by us. My dear sir, I have heard you say to my now departed liusband that you regarded the college as the fountain Df the cluu'ch ; why, then, be engaged with the streams, and let the fountain dry up? The Lord enable you to discern what is His holy will ; and, if you can do nothing more, oh ! i:»ray for us, and by your counsel and cooperation be to us instead of eyes." She had just been permitted to partake of the Lord's Supper in this church, and she assures Dr. Livingston that the Saviour never seemed to her more precious. " This pre- cious Lord Jesus will be our joy in heaven. Oh ! the 84: HISTORICAL DISCOUKSE. hlessedness of being ^^^rinitted to cast our crowns for- ever before him." This remarkable woman survived her husband seven- teen years, and died at the residence of her son, Hon. J. R. Hardenbergh, No. 14 Water street, March 26th, 1807. She had attained the venerable age of eighty- two years, and her death was a scene of triumph. She rests by the side of her husband, " of high attainments here in grace, now resting in glory." The following verse, of great poetic beauty, very appropriately testi- fies to her exalted attainments, and is engraved upon her tomb-stone : " Tell how she climbed the everlasting hills, Surveying all the realms above ; Borne ou a strong-winged fiiith, and on The fiery wheels of an immortal love." The children of her first marria2:e were a dau2:hter, Eva, ^vho became the wife of Mr. Casper Van Nostrand, of Ulster county, N. Y., where several of her descend- ants are still living ; and Frederick, the father of the late Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen. All who bear this honored name in our section of country are the de- scendants of Frederick, the only son of Rev. John Fre- linghuysen, of Raritan. At the close of Mr. Hardenbergh's ministry, the •church was in a settled, j)rosperous, and harmonious <3ondition. They had enjoyed only for a short time the labors of this devoted man, but they had been years of growth and improvement in every department of church, life. His ripest views of truth he had here preached, his fervent appeals and instructions had been blessed by encouraging ingatherings, and the tenderness of his spirit, disciplined by affliction, had left its imj^ress on all hearts. It is said that the day of his funeral was IlISTOEICAL DISCOUr,SE. 85 one of great solemnity. He liacl been a man of distinc- tion in civil life, as well as in ecclesiastical and educa- tional interests. An active member of the convention that framed the first constitution of New-Jersey, a j)atriot whose life, often threatened by his tory neigh- bors, had compelled him to sleep with a loaded musket at his bed-side, caused the whole community to recog- nize in his death the loss of one of their most distin- guished citizens, as well as a great divine. As soon as the church could recover from the pain of their loss, they sought for a suitable successor, but were subjected to repeated disappointments. It was again proposed that the Consistory of the church should call as their pastor, and the trustees of the college should elect as their president, one who should discharge the duties of botli offices. Under this arrangement Dr. Livingston was elected, but declined ; so also did Dr. Theodoric Romeyn. In the mean while the college con- tinued to languish, until the year 1795, when its doors were closed, not to be opened until its revival under the efficient management of the succeeding 2:)astor of this church, in 1S07. Two years were consumed in these negotiations, and now the churcli enters upon the work alone, and in earnest. An effort was made to settle Rev. John Bassett in October, 1792, then pastor of the church of Albany, l3ut without success. So ur2:ent was the conQ-rescation that the effort ^vas renewed, witli the promise of a large ad- dition to the salary, but witk a similar result. The pulpit remained vacant until quite late in the year 1793. In the early part of the summer of that year, a man in the prime of life preached in the Presbyterian church, ^vitli whom oiu- people were so well pleased that they invited him to remain and suj)ply their i3ulpit 86 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. the following Sabbatb. The result was a unanimous call, August 24th, 1793, to the fourth pastor, EEV. IRA CONDICT, D.D. He was born at Orange, Essex county, Februaiy 21st, 1764. He received his academic instruction under Dr. McWhorter, of Newark, and became a student of Princeton College. He became a subject of grace while a member of college, and immediately devoted himself to the gospel ministry. It is said that he cherished a desire for the ministry from his youth, and w^as accus- tomed to view every Providence as j^ointing toward the sacred office. While a member of college, he took a very high stand as a scholar, and was particularly distinguished for his accuracy in the classics. He gra- duated from that institution in the year 1784, under the presidency of the celebrated Dr. John Witherspoon. His theological studies he pursued under the direction of Dr. Woodhull, of Monmouth, and was licensed by the Presbytery of New-Brunswick in 1786. April 20tb, 1787, he was called to the united congregations of Newtown and Hardwick, in Sussex county, and imme- diately entered uj^on the field of his labors. Here he found a wide and destitute region, demanding great energy of character and powers of endurance. Within the compass of his old pastoral charge now exist several flourishing Presbyterian churches, as also of other de- nominations. His ministry continued at this place for six years, and he left there the impress of his noble character. He was aided and encouraged by a most excellent wife, whom many of you will remember as " highly gifted in intellectual and s^Diritual graces," and whose mind retained all of its vigor in the midst of protracted sufferings. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 8< In Dr. Condicfc's call it is stipulated that tlie services are to be conducted in the English language, and that he should preach two sermons in summer and one during the winter months. He was also to hold regu- lar services " on the instituted feast-days of Christmas, New- Year, Easter, Whitsunday, and Ascension day, ac- cording to the custom of the church." The salary pro- mised was £180, and a comfortable dwelling-house. The names of the followino: officers are attached to the call : John Schureman, John Van Neste, William Van Deursen, Garret Voorhees, elders; Fredrick Outcalt, John Thompson, Denice Vanliew, and John Bice, dea- cons. The original subscription-paper is still preserved, headed by the name of John Schureman, the son of the school-master. On the list we find, in a large bold hand, the signature of Dinah Hardenbergh, a ruling power in the church, as we have seen ; as also that of John Neilson, a Presbyterian, -whose wife, Catharine Voorhees, always retained her connection with the Dutch Church. Dr. Condict did not commence his regular duties as the pastor of the church until the first of November. The extent of the congregation at the commencement of his ministry Avill give some idea of the amount of labor that he performed. In addition to the town charge, the families extended north to Boundbrook, and on the opposite side of the Baritan to New-Market, south alono;; Geortre's road five miles, and down to South river, and west two miles beyond the present site of the Middlebush church. The first act of the Consistory was to j)rocure a suit- able residence for the minister. For a few months Mr. Condict lived in Neil son street, now number eight, in a house rented of William Lawson, at the rate of £37 SS IIISTOEICAL DISCOUKSE. lOs.'per annum. When the churches of New-Bruns- wick and Six Mile Eun were in connection, they owned a parsonage at Three Mile Run. On the deatli of Mr. Leydt, this property was sold to Mr. Jacolo Skillman, and the portion that fell to the share of this church, £195 8s. 4d., was appropriated to tlie purchase of seven- teen acres of land on George's road, now in possession of Mr. Edwin Allen, at a cost of <£200, and also a house and lot in Church street, now number sixty-two, of John Bray. The building was in an unfinished state, and cost, with the repairs, made under the direction of the Consistory, £475 lis. Gd. Here Dr. Coudict resided until his removal, in 1798, to a farm of one hundred and thirteen acres, near Milltown, now the proj^erty of Mr. Henry H. Booram, but which is still known as the Condict farm.'"" The situation was distant and incon- venient; but that the chiu'ch did not suffer in conse- quence of his residence so far from the centre is evident from its steady growth, demanding additional church accommodations, which was accomplished in 1803 by the erection of commodious galleries, and by the ad- vance of his salary from £180 to £280, in connection with a commodious parsonage. While there does not seem to have been any remark- able season of revival under his ministry, yet there was a gradual increase to the membership of the church, '" Dr. Condict purchased a property in Church street, number seventy- four, to which he removed in the spring of 1794, and resided there until the parsonage was completed. This house was sold by his widow a few years after his death. The parsonage remained in the liands of the Consistory until 1801), when it was sold to Mr. Ilenr}'^ Van Arsdalen. The seventeen acres in George's road were sold about the same time, and a property of four or five acres purchased on Somerset and Hamilton streets, known in subsequent transactions of Consistory as "the parsonage lot." In the speculation in city lots which prevailed in this town in the year 1814, a part of this ground was surveyed, laid out into squares, and sold at high prices ; but parties who purchased failed, and very little was ever realized for a property which is now of great value. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 89 and it is a gratifying' record that no communion season passed without the addition of some new members.* Among this number there were three young men who subsequently entered the gospel ministry, and occupied distinguished positions in the church, John Schureman, John S. Vredenbergh, and Kobert Bronk. Dr. Condict was one of the most efficient pastors whom this church has enjoyed. While he was practical and earnest as a preacher, and always came into the pulpit with a well-prepared discourse, among the fami- lies of his charge he excelled. In catechising, pastoral visitation, and labors among the poor he had not his superior. He was remarkably punctual in all his en- gagements, and in his most distant preaching places he was found at the hour ready to commence the services. "While he has left behind him a character for remarka- ble gravity in his deportment, and was subject to occa- sional moods of desjoondency, yet he was gifted with fine conversational powers, and frequently, in social intercourse with his people, he would throw off all re- serve and exhibit a mind full of vivacity. As a mem- ber of church judicatories he vras active, and always took a prominent part in debate. The General Synod of our church elected him their President at their meet- ing in Albany, in June, 1800. It is said that his assist- ance was greatly sought after by congregations who were vacant, and his judicious counsels often led to the amicable adjustment of difficulties which were be- ginning to assume formidable proportions. He gained a very just popularity for his learning, and while he was laborious as a pastor he did not neglect his study. The minute of Classis, referred to by Mr. *For a list of church members made at the commencement of his minis- try, see Appendix IV. 90 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. Corwin, in reference to the necessary suspension of the strict examination of students on the removal of Dr. Condict by death, while " not very complimentary to the survivors," at the same time exhibits the estimation in which he was held as a scholar. Intimately connected with the history of our church, at the period now under review, are connected the re- moval of the Theological Seminary to this city and the reoro-anization of the Collesre. In addition to his labors as the pastor of the church. Dr. Condict took a deep interest in these institutions, and, as a trustee of Queen's College, by his personal exertions was mainly instru- mental in its partial revival in 1807. An endowment of twenty thousand dollars was secured, and when it again went into operation, after having been suspended for twelve years, he was chosen Vice-President and Professor of Moral Philosophy. The building in which the exercises were held stood near the site of the Sec- ond Presbyterian Church, afterward removed to Schure- raan street, and is now known as the Lancasterian School. The college owned two acres of land lying west of our old burying-ground, which property was afterward sold and the funds invested in the erection of the present edifice, the foundation of which was laid in 1809, Dr. Condict had removed about the year 1805 from Milltown, and resided during^ the remainder of his pastorate at No. 32 Water street. The number of students Avas very encouraging, and for the measure of success which this institution then enjoyed it is in- debted largely to the personal labor and sacrifice of the pastor of this church. When the history of this insti- tution shall be written, it will be found that to him more than to any other man is she indebted for this noble building, standing in its beautiful location as an HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 91 ornament to our city. He was mainly instrumental in securing from Mr. James Parker, by gift, the lot on wliicli it stands. The first subscrii^tion j^aper for the edifice was drawn up by his own hand, and by great perseverance lie overcame all the obstacles thrown ii'x his way, and some time before his death he had the satisfaction of seeing the building rise in its fine pro- portions, and his efl:brts crowned with complete success. The first commencement, under this new impulse, y/as held in October, 1809, in the old stone church; and in the class of five graduates three were young men of this congregation — Cornelius L. Hardenbergh, the grand- son of the former pastor, J. M. Van Harlingen, and the valedictorian of the day. Dr. William Van Deursen, who is present with us on this occasion with a memory reaching back to the college scenes of fifty-eight years ago. Connected with the revival of the College, and as a part of the plan, was the removal of the Theological Seminary to this city, in the year 1810, at which time that distinguished professor, Dr. John H. Livingston, took up his residence here, assuming at the same time the Presidency of the College. It is to the honor of our denomination that she ors^anized the first Theolos^i- cal Institution in our land. Dr. Livingston receiving his appointment as early as 1784. But it was not until the year 1810 that the Seminary, on its j^ermanent es- tablishment in this city, started on a career of prosper- ity Avhich has made it a fountain of life for the church and the world. The institution prospered greatly lui- der the labors of that venerable man, whom the church delighted to honor. One hundred and twenty young men enjoyed the benefit of his instructions in their pre- paration for the ministry. And it would hardly be 93 IIISTOrJCAL DISCOURSE. possible to set boundaries to the sphere of liis influence. The Seminary in his day had its discouragements and trials ; but it has passed through them all, and with the advance of years it is more than ever imbedded in the affections of the whole church. Dr. Condict was greatly favored during the whole period of his ministry in the character of those Vv^ho labored with him in the Gospel, both in the city and surrounding country. In the Presbyterian church he w'as associated with Dr. Joseph Clark, (I7d1 to 1813,) a man of eminent ability, remarkably dignified in his appearance, and greatly esteemed by the peoj^le. His sudden death created a great sensation through the town. The text for his Sabbath mornino; discourse was, "The time is short," and on the following Tues- day, retiring to rest with ordinary health, he Avas ar- rested by the hand of death some time before the dawn of morning. In the Episcopal church we find tlie Rev. John Croes, (1801 to 1832,) afterward the Bishop of New-Jersey, characterized as " the watchful pastor, the instructive preacher, the thoughtful writer, the sound, well-read divine." Of the ministers of our own denom- ination, in the churches surrounding New-Brunswick, we have, at Six Mile Run and Hillsborough, (179G to 1807,) a young man of great promise, and afterward of great distinction. Rev. James S. Cannon. At the old church of Mr. Frelinghuysen, at North-Branch, Rev. Dr. Peter Studiford (1787 to 1826) labored with all his strength imtil God called him home. At Raritan we have Rev. John S. Vredenbergh, (1800 to 1821,) one of the gifted young men of our own church, the son of a prominent elder, whom Dr. Condict had him- self received into her communion, and whom he re- joiced over as his spiritual offspring. And Rev. William IIISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. 93 R Smith, (1794 to 1817,) with his colleague, Eev. Henry Polhenius, at Neshanic and Harlingen, fills up the catalogue of those who labored with him in the Gospel throughout this region. Under the efficient labors of Dr. Condict the church steadily increased in strength, and with the growth of the population enlarged accommodations were again demanded. For two years the question was agitated of enlarging the old building, or of constructing a new edifice. After discussing various plans, the project of a new building was finally adopted with great harmon}-. An efficient building committee was appointed March 11th, 1811, consisting of Matthew Egerton, Staats Van Deursen, John Clark, John D. Van Liew, and Michael Garrish. The arrangements Avere all completed, con- tracts were entered into with builders, and the work was going forward in a spirit of harmony which sel- dom marks such undertakins-s, when a sudden cloud rested upon the whole enterprise in the unexpected death of the beloved Condict. The old stone church in which your fathers vror- shiped for nearly fifty years, and Avhich, though un- adorned, had connected with it so many precious associa- tions, was to be occupied for the last time on Sabbath, May 20th. On the following morning the work of demolition was to commence preparatory to rebuilding. In the Providence of God this was also to be the last sermon whick Dr. Condict was to preach previous to his departure. As if in anticipation of what was to take place, he took for his text this striking j^assage of Scrip- ture from Dent. 4: 22, 23: "But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan : but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. Take heed unto your- selves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your 94: mSTORlCAL DISCOURSE. God, wliicli lie made witli yoii, and make you a graven image, or tlie likeness of any tiling, wliieli the Lord tliy God liatli forbidden tliee." He dwelt ^vitll particular emphasis upon keeping God's covenant, and the touch ing allusions -which he made to the old sanctuary made the house a scene of weeping. On Monday the workmen commenced ; the bell was taken down from the tower and the pews removed, when on Friday the word was circulated that Dr. Con- diet was confined to his house by sickness. The Sab- bath came, and he was unable to meet his people. During the early part of the Aveek there were hopes of his recovery, but all expectation was removed as early as Wednesday, when the announcement was made that he would not probably recover. Dr. Thomas De Witt, who was residing in his family pursuing his studies in the Seminary, has left us in manuscript a record of the closina: scene. The disease wliicli terminated in his deatli was very violent from its commencement, and Dr. Condict him- self thought that it would prove fatal. While he mani- fested the o-reatest resiirnation durino; the wliole of his sickness, toward the close his faith, amounted to rapture. Dr. Livingston visited him daily, and these two godly men, the one on the bed of death, tlie other in the rijDO experience of age, held sucli conversation as we may suppose that the saints in glory enjoy. In the early stages of the disease, lie was exposed, to great spiritual conflicts and distress. To tke venerable professor he remarked : " I have been mucli harassed and disturbed ; still I hope." When the reply was made that it was a precious exercise of faith simply to wait ujoon the Lord and leave tlie event witli him, he answered : "It is so, but Jesus must give the grace." And that grace the ■"^Ss^"^ REFOKMED DUTril CHURCH, NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J. Krfctf.d 1TC7. Takrn down- isll. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 95 Saviour did bestow. On "Wednesday, (lie died on Saturday after suffering great bodily pain,) lie said: " How o'ood is tlie Lord to rae in the midst of affliction. I can say, I have waited for thy salvatiou, O Lord ; it is a precious salvation." On Thursday evening, as if in profound meditation, he used this language : " I know Christ died for, I know he can keep, and will keep what I have com- mitted to him. It is done, it is all sealed^ Observing some one at his bed-side, he added : " Ah ! I am talk- in o;." During the whole of Friday night his death was an- ticipated at any moment. At one o'clock he arose in his bed and spoke in these words : " The main question with us all is, whether we are willing and ready to die. It is now ascertained to a certainty that I must die. I trust that I am sincerely Avilling to die. Heavenly Father ! into thy hands I commit my spirit, and I pray for that grace for vvhicli I have often prayed to supj^ort me in the trials and agonies which now await me." After a few minutes of rest, he called around him his family for the farewell blessing. The scene was like that of Jacob parting with his children. To his son Harrison, a young man of great 23romise who soon fol- lowed his father, he said : "My son, I must leave yon. Hitherto I have been your teacher, at best an imperfect one. You shall no more have my instructions; but there is the word of God, which has an abundance of know- ledge and grace. The Lord has given to you reason, and the capacity for knowing and loving him. Let that word be your instructor, and you will experience riches of grace." " Fear not," he said to his wife ; " you have special promises. As for our children, you know I have often committed them to God." To one of the 96 HISTOIIICAL DISCOURSE. elders of the cliiirch lie spoke words of counsel and en- couragement, and sent to Lis flock a message of great tenderness, pointing them to the heavenly Shepherd now as they were to be left destitute. He is now at the closing moment ; his work is done, and he is wait- ing for the Lord to call him. Just before his departure occurred a most remarka- ble scene, equaling any thing in the exjoerience of God's peoj)le. Dr. Thomas De Witt has given us this record : " When to all appearance he was near his end, to our wonder and satisfaction he arose in his bed, observed the great necessity of prayer, and that finding the house of death a solemn one, requested those who were present to join with him. He then made a most pow- erful, solemn, and connected prayer of about four min- utes. What appeared surprising was that in his fee- ble condition he was enabled to speak so long without interruption. It appeared as if the Lord had given him special strength." He died on Saturday, June 1st, 1811, at eleven o'clock. Thus departed, in the triumph of faith, the beloved Con- diet. The next Sabbath was a gloomy one in the city. Many of the people from the country came, expecting to hear him preach, and were startled with the intelli- jxence of his death. His funeral was attended from his residence in Water street. Dr. Livingston making the address, and the clergy of the city acting as pall-bear- ers. The bell of the Episcopal church was tolled during the services, and all the places of business in the city were closed. When arrived at the grave, it seemed as if the whole population of New-Brunswick and surrounding country was crowded into the inclo- sure. A few w^ords were again spoken by the venera- ble Professor to the weeping people, and beneath the .^.^ HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 97 walls of the old cliurch in wliicli lie Lad preached for seventeen years, now in process of demolition, lie was buried. To the left of the j)ulpit, not far from the grave of his predecessor. Dr. Jacob E. Hardenbergh, will be seen the monument erected by the congregation to the memory of one of their most devoted ministers. He is represented to have been a tall, muscular man, with black hair, of prominent features, very grave in his deportment, and a man of undoubted piety. It is not probable that in the whole list of pastors there was one more affectionately regarded than the man whom every one esteemed as the " beloved Condict." He seemed to walk these streets as a stranger, and any one who saw him would be impressed with his striking countenance and demeanor. Some of you will remem- ber his sedateness of appearance, and not one who ever heard him in prayer Avill forget the unction and spiritu- ality of his devotions. In social intercourse he was affable, cheerful, and gave to every one the impression that he had a warm and affectionate heart. He was honored and welcomed beyond the limits of his o^vn extensive charge. Other societies recognized in him a true-hearted minister of Christ, and among the people in city and country he had hosts of friends. With Dr. Clark he was on terms of particular intimacy, frequently exchanging pulpits and visits, and forming united plans for systematic labor. In his arrangements he was exact, and had for every de23artment of labor a fixed time and method. No man could have accomplished more than he did, and the secret of his efficiency lay in the wisdom of his plans. Public institutions honored themselves by placing his name on their catalogues. The corpora- tion of Princeton College elected him a member of their Y 98 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. board iu 1804, Laving previously bestowed upon him the title of Doctor of Divinity. As a preacher he was always excellent, dwelling with particular emphasis upon God's covenant. In- deed, this was liis life-work, for he felt that God had set him apart in order that he might preach the Gospel. Althouo-h the hand of death has removed almost the entire number of those who sat under his ministry, yet I am happy to have rescued sufficient facts to recall, in part at least, a just portrait of the man. He wore in the pulpit the gown and cassock, and his very appear- ance was dignified and solemn ; not a solemnity that repelled, but which was becoming in a minister of the Gospel. He distrusted very much his own abilities, and was occasionally depressed in mind to such a degree that he felt scarcely fitted to enter the pulpit. He would often stop, on his way up the aisle of the churcli, at the pew of Jufvrow Hardenbergh, for a word of com- fort or encouragement, which she was always sure to have ready for him. It would not be correct to affirm of him that he was gifted with the power of oratory, for this he did not possess ; nor with any singular original- ity of thought or forms of expression, for this he did not cultivate or covet ; nor with any brilliancy of imagina- tion and vivid paintings of truth, for he was too intent upon the single j)"urpose of preaching Christ to be led away by any outward display. His strength lay rather in his powerful conviction of the truth which he preached; in his intense earnestness of soul, driving him on as if he liad a great work to do for his Master; in his deep sympathy with his hearers, which wrought within all souls the conviction that he sought their good ; in a life so consistent that he had not to over- come any unfavorable prejudice, for they felt that he HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 99 was speaking out of an honest heart ; and in a single- ness of aim which held him in close contact with the cross. The death of a lovely daughter, Ruth, in the opening flower of her beauty, struck all hearts with great surprise and sorrow, affected him very deeply, and it is said that he went into the pulpit on the fol- lowing Sabbath and delivered a most tender, earnest, and jiowerfid message from God to the young, and ever afterward his soul more than ever seemed to be given to the cause of Christ. He had a great aversion to appear in print, and although he Avas frequently recpiested to give his ser- mons to the Consistory for publication, yet he uni- formly declined so doing. The only production of his pen that I have seen is a sermon preached before our citizens on the occasion of the death of George Wash- ington, by the invitation of the Mayor and Common Council, and published under their direction. If this is a specimen of his j^ulpit abilities, we can readily account for his extensive popularity. I am pleased to add a few sentences from the short obituary notice ^vhich appeared in the Guardian, or New-Brimswick Advertiser, the week succeeding his death : '' He was learned and pious, Avith a discriminating mind and sound judgment. He believed the doctrines of grace, and preached them with precision and zeal. Amiable in his temper, humble, prudent, and without guile in his conversation, he gained the love and possessed the confidence of all who knew him. His time and talents were devoted to the cause of the Divine Redeemer, and his exertions in preaching, visiting, and catechising, througliout his extensive parochial districts, were ar- duous and unremitted. Dr. Condict was also Vice- President of Queen's College, and had, besides other 100 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. academical duties, tlie principal charge of the senior class. The labors attached to this station, in addition to his ministerial cares, proved too severe ; they gradu- ally exhausted his strength, and a severe attack of pneumonia terminated in the death of one of the iii'st characters in the church." He died in the forty-eighth year of his age, and in the twenty-fifth of his ministry, seventeen of which had been given to this congregation. His son, Daniel Harrison, whom he addressed so affec- tionately on his death-bed, soon followed his father, dying August 28 th, and was buried by the side of his honored parent. His beloved wife, after surviving her husband many years, a woman of sweet and amiable temper, and of an intelligent piety, was l)rought from the residence of her daughter in Newark, and " laid in the sepulchre in the full exercise of a holy faith that she would rise again." The churcli had now been in existence ninety-four years, and Dr. Condict was the fourth pastor. They had all died while ministers of this church, and their graves are with us unto this day, a beautiful exhibition of the permanence of the pastoral relation, and of the affection existing between minister and people. The church at this date Avas very much disheartened ; with the loss of their pastor in the midst of rebuilding their church edifice, they felt that all was gone. But Dr. Livingston, by his counsel and encouragement, gave them new strength. He visited the sick, occupied the pulpit of the Presbyterian church at the service of this congregation in the afternoon, and stood in the place of a pastor for nearly two years. In the mean time the work of building went on, the princi]3al amount of the labor falling upon two members of the committee, John Clark and Staats Van Deursen. The corner-stone was HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 101 laid with appropriate ceremonies July 6th, 1811. The building was completed and occujDied for the first time September 27th, 1812. The dedication sermon was preached by Dr. Livingston, from Ezekiel 43:12: " This is the law of the house : Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." The pews were sold on the fifth of the following January. So satisfac- tory was the whole arrangement, and with such care were the funds managed, that, on the final report of the committee to Consistory, they gave over the building into their hands free of debt, and, out of compliment, were presented with one of the square pews. The cost of the building was $16,415. The edifice was at that tinae one of the largest in the State, and is now the most commodious house of worship in the city. Its dimensions are ninety-four feet in length, including the tower, which projects four feet, and sixty-six feet in breadth, and will comfortably seat eleven hundred wor- shipers. This building will always attract attention, on account of its noble proportions and commanding situation, as well as from the interesting associations which it awakens. Since its erection, all the Presidents of our College have here been inaugurated, and the Professors of our Seminary, with only a single excep- tion, have here been inducted into ofiice. Until re- cently all the commencement exercises have been Jield in this edifice, and hundreds of young men have looked upon it as the scene of their collegiate honors. It has stood for more than half a century in its massive pro portions, testifj^ing to the integrity of the builders and the watchfulness of the committee. It has been t^dce remodeled — in 1847, by lowering the galleries, and erect- ing a new pulpit, and in 1862 by reseating and furnish ing the entire edifice. 102 HISTOEICAL DISCOURSE. But, while the work of building was going on, the Consistory was not negligent of the great want of thie church — a pastor. Negotiations were carried on witli the trustees for two years to settle two ministers, who should hold the joint pastorate of the church and pro- fessorships in the College. But the plan was finally abandoned, and on May 25th, 1812, an urgent call was extended to the fifth pastor, EEV. JOKN" SCHUEEMAN, D.D. This was a happy selection, and very pleasing to tlie whole congregation. He was one of their own sons, a great favorite, and universally esteemed. His ancestors had been active members of this church for more than ninety years, and were distinguished for their piety and influence. His father was Hon. James Schureman, the patriot of the Revolution, and at this time was a prominent member of the congregation ; and his mother was a descendant of the Schuyler family, who came to this town from Albany at its early settlement. His grandfather was Hon. John Schureman, after whom he was named, a merchant of this city, and frequently representing this district in the State Legislature — who was the son of Jacobus Schureman, the schoolmaster, who came from Holland with Mr. Frelinghuysen in XT' 20, with whom he diligently cooperated in the good work of building up the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom in this favored section of the church. Dr. Schureman was born October 19th, 1778, near New-Brunswick, to which place his parents had resort- ed during the occupation of the city by the British army during the Revolutionary war. His religious exercises commenced in very early life, and when a HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 108 mere youtli lie was often observed in the devout study of tlie Scriptures and prayer. In consequence of the absence of his father in the public service of the coun- try, his education devolved principally upon his aged grandfather, to whom he was much indebted for a sound religious training. Young Schureraan displayed quite early those traits of character which shone so brightly through his whole life. He was cheerful and amiable in his disposition, affectionate and dutiful to his superiors, kind in his intercourse with his compa- nions, and beloved by all who knew him. He was received into the membership of this church on profes- sion of his faith, under the ministry of Dr. Conclict, at the communion in April, 1797. That he was apt to learn may be inferred from the fact of his completing his literary course before he had finished his seven- teenth year, graduating from Queen's College Septem- ber 30th, 1795. After studying theology with Dr. Liv- ingston he was licensed in 1800. His first sermon was preached in the old church for Dr. Condict, and he at once gave promise of the solid, judicious minister which his subsequent life confirmed. His successive fields of labor were at Bedminster for six years, at Millstone for two and a half years, and in the Collegiate Church of New- York for two years. In the latter charge his health soon failed, and he came to New-Brunswick, suc- ceeding Dr. Condict as Vice-President of the College. But this institution was in a very depressed condition, and, in consequence of the exhausted state of its funds and other unfixvorable circumstances, with all his dili- gence and ardor he was not able to restore it to its former honorable position. His love for the pulpit, and his recovered health, secured by rest from public speaking, induced him to listen to an urgent call from 104: HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. this cliurcli, and lie was installed early in January, 1813. But tlie flattering prospects of usefulness which now opened before him were speedily disappointed ; he soon found that his cherished wish to preach the Gospel was to be denied him, and in June of the same year he resigned his charge, and, in consequence of frequent hemorrhages of the lungs, he very seldom after this entered the puli:)it. The disappointment of the people was very great. Pie was a finished scholar and a Christian gentleman. That this church was attached to him may be seen in the fact that he had been unanimously called as a col- league with Dr. Condict in 1809, that he might devote more of his attention to the college, which call he de- clined in order to accept the invitation from New- York ; and, while the actual pastor of this church, they not onlj^ relieved him of much of the burden of the ministry, but importuned him to remain in his official connection with the congregation, in hopes that a return of health would enable him to assume the full duties of a pastor. And they had reason to love him, for he w^as truly one of the excellent of the earth. In his subsequent intercourse with the people he was a most judicious and kind counselor, and his influence went far towai'd healing the unhappy division which arose during the ministry of his successor. Few men understood human nature better than he did, and no man could have been possessed of a heart more affectionate. As a preacher, he was sound in the faith, clear in his method of ar- rangement, simple and concise in his style, earnest and impressive in his delivery, tender in the very tones of his voice, not frequent but appropriate in his gesticula- tion, and would leave upon the minds of his hearers the impression that he had in his own soul a deep con- HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 105 viction of tlie trutli that lie uttered, and was pervaded by an earnest desire that they should receive profit under his ministrations. That he did not arrest the attention by any bold and striking figures, or move his hearers by pathetic appeals to the passions, was un- doubtedly true ; but he won his way to the heart by preaching Christ in a method so distinct, and with a manner so fervid, that it is no wonder that he became one of the most useful and popular ministers of his day. One of our ministers* writes : " He was my heau ideal of a man, a minister, and a preacher. Well do I re- member how he charmed my heart by his solemnity and suavity." Another,f who knew him well, remarks : " I may be thought to exaggerate his merits, but it is difficult to hold the pencil steadily when portraying a man so uncommonly amiable. You loved him even upon a first interview, and you could not withhold your love after it was besto'wed. It seems but as yesterday," he adds, " w^hen the venerable Dr. Livingston, in an address at the funeral of the deceased junior professor, turning to the theological students, said, ' My children, you will not, you can notfoi^get your dear Schureman.^ " After his resignation of the pastorate of this church he was elected, October, 1815, a Professor of Ecclesias- tical History and Pastoral Theology in the Seminary, and died in that office May 15th, 1818. His grave is in the yard near that of Dr. Condict, the fifth of your deceased pastors, beneath a monument erected by Gen- eral Synod. At a meeting of that body, a short time after his death, the sentiments of the whole church w^ere expressed in the following action: "The death of the late professor. Dr. John Schureman, is an event * Dr. I. N. W^yckoff. f Dr. Gabriel Ludlow. 106 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. wbicli, however it may have been his incalculable gain, is deeply to be deplored by us. So amiable were his manners, so undoubted his piety, so acceptable his ser- vices, and so flattering were his pros2:)ects as to his use- fulness in the church, that we can not but mourn that such a man is removed from our institution." It was also provided tha,t a plain tombstone be erected over his grave, with a suitable inscription declaring the im- portant station he occupied in the church, and the esteem which this body will long cherish for one whose praise was in all the churches. The resignation of Dr. Schureman was followed by a short vacancy. October 2d, 1813, the church, with great unanimity, called, as the sixth pastor, EEV. JESSE FOISTDA. He was born in the town of Watervliet, Albany county, N. Y., April 2'rth, 1786. He made a profes- sion of his faith in the Reformed Dutch Church of the Boght, and graduated from Union College, in 1806, in the same class with Dr. C. C. Cuyler and the Hon. John C. Spencer. His theological studies were pursued un- der the direction of ministers of our church, and he was licensed by the North Consociation of Hartford County. His first settlement was at Nassau, N. Y., where he labored with all the enthusiasm of a young pastor, and in which place his ministry is still remem- bered as one of great prosperity and usefulness. He removed to this city and commenced his labors in the month of November. This church had suffered much for the want of pastoral supervision, Dr. Schureman's feeble health having pre- vented him from doing much active work in the congre- HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 107 gation. Mr. Fonda found a large amouut of labor upon his hands, and, blessed with a vigorous constitution and great energy of character, he gave himself fully to this ministry. He was systematic in his labors and intense- ly active. About this time an unha2:)py controversy commenced in the church in reference to tlie hour for holding the afternoon service on the Sabbath, which continued to disturb the peace of the church for a num- ber of years, and was the ultimate ground of his remo- val. The pastor and city portion of the charge desired a change to three o'clock, but the more distant members of the congregation were in favor of the plan whicli had been the established usage of the church. At one time the difficulty had grown to sucb proportions that the plan of a new organization v^as proposed. The matter in controversy w^as carried before Classis, wbo recommended, tlirough. a committee, the formation of two new churches, one to be located at Three Mile Run, the second at Milltown or on Geors-e's road. It would, no doubt, have been to the interest of the denomina- tion had this plan been carried out, and these churches organized in a spirit of harmony and with a desire to extend the Kedeemer's kingdom. But the existence of this controversy was not so absorbing as to divert the attention from sj)iritual in- terests. During the ministry of Mr. Fonda there was a healthy growth of the church, and at one communion twenty-eight ])ersons made a public j)rofession of their faith. The total number of communicants received into the church was one hundred and seven. Mr. Fonda was dismissed from this congregation July 3d, 1817, in order that he might accept a call from the Reformed Dutch Church, of Montgomery — at that time, as at present, one of the most intelligent and flourisli- 108 HISTORICAL DISCOUKSE. iug congregations in our body. He preaclied liis last sermon on tlie 28tli of the niontli from the text, " Cast- ing all your care upon him, for he careth for you." By request of his numerous friends the sermon was pub- lished, and it exhibits, with great tenderness, the doc- trine of " confidence in God in the day of trouble." It is inscribed to his personal friends Drs. Livingston and Schureman, and to the reverend clergy of New-Bruns- wick, " brethren who dwell together in unity." Mr. Fonda continued at Montgomery in the faithful discharge of his duties until his death in 1827. Few ministers excelled him as a preacher. He had a full, sonorous voice, well modulated, and would draw atten- tion by the pleasantness of his countenance. He pre- pared his sermons with great care, writing them out in full and then j)reaching from memory. He never paused for a word, but carried his hearers along in a train of rapid argument or pungent appeal to the close of his discourse. Dr. Livingston regarded him as one of our most finished ministers. It is said that he greatly excelled on extraordinary occasions. His min- istry occupied the important period of our last war with England. The public mind in this section of the country was intensely agitated, and seizing hold of these important national occurrences he enforced with great power the lessons of religion as taught by " the signs of the times." His sermon, preached April 13th, 1815, on the occasion of the close of the conflict, enti- tled " Thanksgiving for Peace," jDroduced a wonderful sensation. This large building was crowded to its ut- most capacity, while he discoursed with great eloquence upon the passage, " Sing, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 109 daiigliter of Jerusalem. The Lord Lath taken away thy judgments." (Zephaniah 3:14, 15.) In 1814, Mr. Fonda was chosen a member of the Board of Trustees of Queen's College ; and at the an- nual meeting of General Synod in Albany, June, 1823, he was chosen the President of that body. He has left, in his work on the Sacraments, a very fair reputation for authorship, which deserves to be re2:)roduced from the press and given a wide circulation. Mr. Fonda left here in the summer of 181Y. In the graduating class of that year there was a young mac a member of this church, of fine abilities and of great promise, to whom all eyes were immediately directed. It was not necessary for him to preach as a candidate, for every one knew him, and so urgent was the Consis- tory that, even before he received his license, a commit- tee waited upon him with an informal presentation of a call. This student, who became the next pastor of the church of New-Brunsvv^ick, was EEV. JOHK LUDLOW, D.D. His calls bears the date of September 17th, 1817, fifty years ago. The first invitation he declined, but on its renewal he accepted the charge with the under- standing that he was not expected to preach but once on the Sabbath duriug the first year, and be released from all pastoral labor. It is said that he broke through these conditions almost immediately, for he was a faith- ful pastor, and in the pulpit a Boanerges. Some of you remember him as he appeared when he first came among you, and the interest that was awakened in the church by having for their pastor a young man fresh 110 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. from our Theological Seminaiy. His ministry, however, was short. Only two years after his settlement he re- ceived an api^ointment to a professorship in the Theo- logical Seminary, which lie felt constrained to accept, and was accordingly released from his 23astoral charge. His character and history are well understood in this community, where the last years of Ms life were spent in tlie education of young men for the ministry. After spending four years as j)rofessor under his first appoint- ment by General Synod, he returned to the pulpit, for which he had special cpialifications, and was for eleven years the j)astor of the North Church of Albany, at that time, as at present, the first in position and influ- ence in the Synod of Albany. In 1834, he accepted the position of Provost in the University of the City of Phil- adelphia, which ofiice he held for eighteen years ; and only resigned that he might obey the will of the Gen- eral Synod in his election to the Professorship of Eccle- siastical History, Pastoral Theology, and Church His- tory in our Seminary, succeeding the venerable Pro- fessor Cannon, wdiich position he filled with great ability until his death, September 8th, 1857. His grave is among the group of pastors and professors in the yard at the left of the pulpit. Dr. Ludlow, as a man, a minister, and a Christian, was universally esteemed. The confidence which was reposed in him by the church is sufficiently indicated by his election at five different periods to professorships in our institutions. In the JSTorthern Synod no minister exerted so wide an influence. If a church building was to be dedicated, or a corner-stone laid, or an in- stallation sermon preached, the services of Dr. Ludlow were solicited. In his early ministry in this church he developed rapidly, and soon exhibited all those traits of HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Ill character wliich clistinguislied him in after-life. Says one of his early students : " We loved him as a preacher. He elucidated liis texts fairly, strongly, with dignity, and as one ever under a sense of God's requirements. His subjects were rich and diversified. He loved what he used to call a good fat text, one full of Gospel truth and bearing on men's hearts and conscience." His brother remarks that " his strength as a preacher lay very much in his manner / in the fire of his eye ; in the expression of his countenance — an expression very varied and corresponding very fully with his varied emotions ; in the stentorian tones of his voice — a voice that easily filled the largest buildings ; in his strong and well-placed emphasis; in his forcible gesticulation; in his positive, authoritative, confident manner." A most admirable analysis of his character was given by Dr. Bethune, who knew him well. Based on the thought that his leading quality was strength, he presents Dr. Ludlow as a man, " strong in person, strong in voice, strong in intellect, strong in will, strong in affections." His activity in carrying forward all the great mea- sures of our church is deserving of high praise. And the nol^le result of his last labors for the church he loved — the Theological Hall — stands before us to-day as a monument to his memory. All those traits of cha- racter which distinguished him in afterlife he displayed at the commencement of his ministry, and while he was yet the pastor of this church. And it is not surpris- ing that they yielded to the will of General Synod with extreme reluctance, and " a general murmur arose through the congregation not easily or soon hushed." The resignation of Dr. Ludlow left this church va- cant for the third time in the short space of six years. Rev. Gabriel Ludlow, the brother of the late pastor, 112 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. was now called, but declined the invitation. The pul- pit was supplied by the professors in the Seminary for about one year, during which period the attention of the Consistory was directed to another young student, who graduated from the institution in the first class under the instruction of their former minister ; and on January 21st, 1821, there was called, as the eighth pastor of this church, EEV. ISAAC FEEEIS, D.D. Dr. Ferris was installed pastor of the church on the third Thursday in April, 1821. Early in May, Eev. Samuel B. How, D.D., commenced his labors in the Presbyterian church, of which he was installed the pas- tor the 13th of June.* April 13th, Rev. G. S. Webb, D.D., became the minister of the Baptist church. It is a striking coincident that these three New-Brunswick pastors, all in early manhood, entered upon their work in this city the same spring, and it is not necessary to remark that the intimate relation then formed has con- tinued unbroken until the present. It is a pleasing feature of our anniversary that these servants of the Lord are all still living, with memories reaching back to their labors in this city. Two have their homes with us, spending the close of life among the people to whom they ministered for near a generation, and the other is in the discharge of active duties. As the * The following have been pastors of the First Presbyterian Church : Rev. Gilbert Tennent, (1726-'43 ;) Rev. Thomas Arthur, (?) (1746-'51 ;) Rev, Israel Reed, (1768-'86;) Rev. Walter Monteith, (lY86-'94;) Rev. Joseph Clark, U.D., (1797-1813;) Rev. Levi J. T. Huntington, 1815-20; Rev. Samuel B. How, D.D., (1821-'23;) Rev. Joseph H. Jones, D.D., (1825-'38;) Rev. Robert Birch, (1839-'42;) Rev. Robert Davidson, D.D., (1843-'59;) Rev. Howard Crosby, D.D., (1861-'62 ;) Rev. William T. Beatty, (1863-67,) and at present without a pastor. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 113 senior ex-pastor of this cliurcli, witli great propriety the committee have solicited from him the favor, and the congregation will enjoy the pleasure, of listening to the closing address of our anniversary from one who, forty- six years ago, was set apart to the work of the ministry wdthin these walls by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. November 10th, 1821, there was received into the membership of the church, on profession of his fliith, a young man, in the seventeenth year of his age, who subsequently became one of the most devoted of our foreign missionaries — David Abeel. His father was a man of great moral integrity and of remarkable energy of character; while his mother, Jane Hassert, was a woman of imcommon amiability of temper and of de- voted piety. There were beautifully blended in the character of young Abeel great firmness of purpose, a quick intellect, and an unusual development of gentle- ness and affection. He was one of those men who dre^v toward him the warmest esteem and admiration ; and, when grace gave him a new heart, he Avas of all otiiers the one whose soul would overflow ^vith commiseration for the perishing heathen, and who Avas ready to conse- crate himself to a work Avhich demanded the most he- roic sacrifices, and which he continued to prosecute wdth untirino; devotion to the close of his life. The interest wdth which he was regarded by all those who knew him, as well as indicating one element of his strength, is sufficiently attested by the uniform name which he bore of " the beloved Abeel." His early death, at the age of forty-two, filled the whole Church with mourn- ing ; for well she knew that such men are rare — men of similar faith and ardor, and of entire consecration to the cause of God and man. It is an honor to have 8 11-i IJISTOKICAL DISCOUESE. upon our cliurcli-rolls tlie name of such a man, and to have sent forth into the Gospel ministry and into the heathen world David Abeel. In addition to Dr. Abeel, there were six young men from this conoTeo-ation who consecrated themselves to a o God in the work of the ministry, and who united with the church by profession during the ministry of Dr. Ferris. The whole number of additions to the church during the period under review w^as seventy-eight by profession and twenty-seven by certificate, and of the whole number, one hundred and five, only seven are now in communion with us. The pastoral relation between Dr. Ferris and this congregation was dissolved in October, 1824, when he removed to Albany and was installed over the Second Keformed Dutch Church of that city, succeeding Dr. John De Witt, who had recently assumed the Profes- sorship of Biblical Criticism, Ecclesiastical History, and Pastoral Theology in our Seminary. The successive fields of labor occupied by Dr. Ferris were, in x\lbany twelve years; in the Market Street Church, of New- York, twelve years; and, since 1852, as the Chancellor of the University of New-York, in w^hich honorable position may he long be S23ared to serve the cause of education and advance the interests of the Redeemer's kino-dom. Forty-three years ago, when the ministry of Dr. Fer- ris terminated, New-Brunswick was an ancient town. Those who were then familiar with the city would now recognize only a few things which have not passed through changes, and the inhabitants with whom he was then familiar would no longer be seen in our streets. The population, numbering about four thou- sand five hundred, lived between New street at the south, HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 115 Somerset street at the north, and George street at the Avest, with a few families on the outskirts of the town. This building, without a steeple, had stood for twelve years, and at the time of its erection it was thought that it would be too far distant from the centre of pop- ulation, as at that time only a few families were living further west. About one half of the congregation were from the country, and of the city charge about fifty families resided in Burnet street, thirty in Church, in Water and Albany streets there were forty, and the balance were living in JSTeilson, New, Peace, and Hiram streets.' All that portion of the city beyond George, New, and Somerset streets was out of town. The Col- lege was standing in an unfinished condition on quite a barren hill. The grounds now occupied by the Semi- nary and the beautiful residences beyond were desolate in the extreme, j^resenting tlie remains of the old forti- fication of the British army during the Revolution. The Presbyterian congregation was worshiping in their second edifice, fronting Paterson street, a short distance below the present site. Dr. How had preached his last sermon in this church October 5th, 1823, to accept a call in the city of Savannah, and they were now va- cant. The first building of the Baptist church was standing on the spot now occupied by the depot, sur- rounded by a cemetery of about one acre, where they continued to worshi]) until 1837, when the property was sold and the present edifice erected.'"' There was *This society was connected with the church at Piscataway for several years, the pastor serving both congregations. The first church edifice was completed in 1812, and the church organized September 21st, 1816. The following have been pastors : Rev. James McLaughHn, (1812-17',) Rev. John Johnson, (1818-19,) Rev. G. S. Webb, D.D., (1821-43,) Rev. George R. Bliss, D.D., (18-43-49,) Rev. Shobel S. Parker, (1850-52,) Rev. George W. Kcmpton, (1852-57,) Rev. Thomas R. Hewlett, (1858-59,) and Rev. Mor- timer S. Riddell, D.D., since 18G0. 116 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. only one Metliodist cliurcli, in Liberty street, built in 1811. A trip to Philadel2:)hia was an event to be plan- ned some weeks before tbe undertaking, and a journey to New- York and return consumed two days. Tlie successor of Dr. Ferris, and the ninth pastor, was KEY. JAMES B. HAEDENBERGII, D.D. He was called April 2d, 1825, and was the second minister of this name who held the pastoral office in this church. He was born in Ulster county, N. Y. ; graduated from Union College in 1821, and from our Theological Seminary in 1824; immediately after which he was installed Pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church, of Helderberg, in the county of Albany. He was holding this position when the Consistory of this church presented him an urgent call through one of their deacons,^ Mr. H. H. Schenck. He remained in connec- tion with this church "until December, 1829, discharg- ing his duties with great fidelity and success, in order that he might accept an invitation to labor in a. new enterprise in Orchard street, New-York City, from Avhence he removed to Rhinebeck for six years, to the First Church, of Philadelphia, for four years, and thence to the North -West Church, in New- York, for fourteen years. The property on which our church edifice stands was enlarged, in the years 1823 and 1825, by the purchase of two lots of forty-three feet front on Bayard and Paterson streets, with a depth along the alley of two hundred and forty-four feet, at a cost of $395.50. The first lecture-room owned by the congregation was erected in 1826, on the corner of the alley and Bayard street, at an expense of $1468. All the weekly services of HISTORICAL DISCOUKSE. 117 the churdi were held, up to this date, in the Lancaste- rian school-room in Schureman street. The church edi- fice was still further improved by the erection of a steeple in the year 18J27, under the direction of three very efficient members of the congregation, Staats Van Deurseu, Matthew Egerton, and Peter Spader. The amount expended was $2725. On our list of church members received during the ministry of Dr. Hardenbergh I find the name of that excellent missionary, Rev. Frederick B. Thompson. Through the influence of his pastor he was induced to commence a course of preparation for the gospel min- istry. His missionary life commenced September 17th, 1838, when he reached Singapore, on his way to the island of Borneo, where he spent several years labor- ing with great industry and devotion for the cause of Christ among the benighted Dyahs. His course was soon finished. He died in the city of Berne, Switzer- land, January 17th, 1848, in the thirty-ninth year of his age, "just at a time when his great usefulness be- came apparent, and at a peculiar crisis, when the church most needed his labors. Had he lived," adds his bio- grapher, "to the ordinary age of man, he would, un- doubtedly, have stood among the very first missionaries of his age." In a commemorative discourse, preached in this church after the news of his death had reached America, Dr. How remarked, "The life of our departed brother has been short, but it has not been in vain ; and Ave doubt not but that, hundreds of years hence, the name of Frederick B. Thompson will be pro- nounced in Borneo with blessings upon it." The mem- ory of this godly man is still precious in our church, and it was a privilege in the pastor to have received him into her communion. 118 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Dr. Hardenbergb's resignation was not accepted until repeated efforts had been made to retain liis services ; but, under a conviction of duty, lie was constrained to leave an established and prosperous churcli for a new enterprise in the city of New- York. Tlie last three pastors of this church, Drs. Ludlow, Ferris, and Ilardenbergh, were young men, educated in our own Seminary, and called to exercise the work of the ministry at a most interesting period in the his- tory of the church. They lived at a time when all the great benevolent institutions of the age were set in operation, and the Kingdom of Christ was organized for more efficient activity against the kingdom of dark- ness. They all identified themselves v/ith the promi- nent schemes of Christian benevolence, and aided in carrying forward the plans of religious enterprise. The date of the reorganization of our College occurred during this period. At a meeting of the Board of Trustees in May, 1825, a committee was appointed to increase the endowment of the institution, so that its literary department might be revived and the machi- nery of education set in full operation. Rev. Jesse Fonda was chairman of the committee, and Rev. J. Lud- low and an elder of this church, Jacob R. Harden- bergh, were members. The plan was successful, and so promptly was the effort responded to throughout the church that, at an adjourned meeting of General Synod, held in September following, the gratifying report was made that subscriptions for a third professorship to the amount of $26,000 had been obtained, principally within the bounds of the Synod of Albany, and ar- rangements were made for the revival of the College. At the same time the name of the institution was changed from Queen's to Rutgers, in- honor of a noble HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, 119 Hevolutionaiy patriot, a liberal contributor to its funds, and a distinguished elder in the church. Since that period the College and Theological Seminary, whicli have given such distinction to our city, have in- creased in prosperity and usefulness, until, by the mu- nificent endowments recently procured, they have been placed on a substantial foundation, and have obtained a position of great prominence among the institutions of our land. January 20th, 1825, an event occurred in the congre- gation which clothed not only this church but the whole denomination in mournino*. I refer to the death of the venerable Professor Dr. John H. Livingston, lie was a resident of this city and a member of the con- gregation for fifteen years, and during all this period he was the honored head of our institutions and the acknowledged leader of all religious enterprises. Dr. Livingston was a man of mark in every position he oc- cupied, the observed of all observers. Many things in this city remind us of him. The name of one of our most beautiful streets is called after him, Livingston Avenue. The seat which he always occupied in this sanctuary was at the head of the elders' pew, with a form erect even amid the infirmities of age, and an attention that never wandered for a moment. This building re- minds us of him. He laid the corner-stone with an appropriate address, and, when it was completed, he preached the dedication sermon. He presided at the ordination of pastors ; during the time of vacancy was chairman of meetings of Consistory, and directed the affairs of the cono-reci-ation : he offered consolation to the people on the death or removal of their ministers, and stood himself in the room of a shepherd. It was re- garded as a great privilege to hear him preach, and 120 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, communion Sabbatlis in tlie clnircli of New-Brunswick always drew a large congregation ; for the duty devolved upon liim, by the courtesy of pastors, to take the promi- nent place in the services. And it is said that, while he was always excellent, on these occasions he was supe- rior. The subject in which he most delighted was Jesus the Mediator of the Covenant, and at the Table of the Lord he would grasp the doctrine of the cross with a comprehensiveness which was peculiar to him- self, and present it in a manner so adapted to his theme that all hearts would melt in the presence of Infinite Love. Dr. Livingston's sudden death was almost like a translation. On the day preceding he had delivered an important lecture in the institution, and, retiring to rest at the usual hour, during the night he was received into the glory of the Lord, at the ripe age of seventy- nine years. His funeral was attended in this building by an immense concourse of people, and an address de- livered by Dr. Milledoler. A commemorative sermon was preached on a subsequent Sabbath by Dr. John De Witt, and by request of the Consistory was pub- lished. His monument is in our churchyard, beneath which his precious dust is resting until the resurrection into life eternal. It is forty-two years since this noble man was taken from the church, and yet the impressions left upon the minds of hundreds in our city are as vivid as if they had met him in our streets only yesterday. Indeed, not one who saw him in the pulpit could ever forget him. His clerical dress of the old style; his tall, erect, digni- fied form ; his deliberate but elastic step ; his counte- nance so regular, with a blended expression of benignity and intelligence ; his tones of voice so full, varied, and HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 121 flowing; liis style animated, tender, colloqnial, often sublime, would arrest tlie attention of the youngest hearer. I Lave heard descriptions of him, most accu- rate, from persons who at the time of his death were mere children. There must have been something pe- culiar about him to stamp on the mind an impression which is so permanent. "As a preacher," writes Dr. Sprague, "he was among the most j^romineut of his dav ; his sermons teemed with the richest evano-elical trutli, presented in the most luminous way, and in a style of delivery impressive, majestic, and yet singularly unique. He was for many years recognized as the patriarch of the Dutch Church, and his memory is embalmed in the gratitude and veneration of the a\ hole church." The General Synod immediately made choice of Rev. Philip Milledoler, D.D., one of the ministers of the Colle£>;iate Church in New- York, as the successor of Dr. Livingston in the chair of Didactic Theology, and at the same time he was api)ointed President of Rutgers College. This position he hlled for fifteen years, during which time he was a constant attendant upon the ser- vices of this church, occupying one of the square pews, at the head of which he always sat, giving devout and reverent attention to the preaching of the Avord. Dr. Milledoler Avas a most useful and excellent man, and at one period of his life his services were sought by some of the most important congregations in New- York and Philadelphia. In the latter city, as the suc- cessor of Rev. John Blair Smith, in the Pine Street Church, his ministry was eminently successful, and for several years it was blessed by an almost uninterrupted revival. Previous to the organization of Princeton Seminary, the Presbytery of New- York appointed him 122 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. tlie instructor of students in theology, and lie had the honor of sending out into the ministry several useful and well-prepared young men. Dr. Sj^rague has fur- nished lis with the folloAving picture of the man, the correctness of which will be recognized by all who knew him : " Dr. Milledoler was a man of rather more than the medium height, well-proportioned, with a grave countenance, dignified manners, and good pow- ers of conversation. His mind, naturally of a superior mould, was well-disciplined and well-stored. His Chris- tian character was marked by great consistency and a uniformly fervent devotion. His sermons were always highly evangelical, and delivered with a marked viva- city and unction that could scarcely fail to command attention. But nothing pertaining to him was so un- mistakable as his prayers ; it seemed as if he were literally sj^eaking to his Father in heaven face to face ; simplicity, tenderness, fullness, freedom, and variety were their leading characteristics." We are brought, in the progress of our narrative, to the year 1829. Rapid changes had taken place in the ministry of this church. Dr. Ludlow had hardly be- come acquainted with his people when the General Synod called him to the Seminary ; Dr. Ferris has only commenced his work Avhen Albany calls him to the va- cant joulpit of Dr. DeWitt ; and Dr. Hardenbergh is induced to accept a new field of labor in the city of New- York after servins; this church for about four years. It is not to be disguised that these short pastor- ates were very unfavorable to the real interests of the church. Frequent occurrence of vacancies interrupted the steady progress of religious v/ork, and agitated the congregation with the natural anxiety respecting a suc- cessor. It is almost surprising that the selections were HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 123 made with sucli a spirit of unanimity, and tliat this large cliurch so soon rallied around these young men sent to them by the Lord of the vineyard. The period of vacancy was short. Dr. Ilardenbergh's resignation took effect in December, 1829, and only two months subsequent, namely, on February 23d, 1830, a unanimous call was extended to the tenth pastor, REV. JACOB J. JANEWAY, D.D. He had previously been called to the Presbyterian church in this city, as the successor of Dr. Joseph Clark, in 1814, which invitation he declined. Previous to his settlement over this congregation he had occupied some of the most prominent positions in the Presbyte- rian Church, and at the date of his call had just resigned the Professorship of Theology in the Western Theolo- gical Seminary, at Alleghany, Pa. He was not installed until May 26th, though he assumed the charge of the pulpit early in the spring. The church now felt that they had secured a pastor of middle age, who would long remain among them, and give his ripe experience and sound instruction to the upbuilding and establish- ment of the congregation. He came to this city with a well-furnished mind, a large stock of experience, tho- roughly orthodox in his sentiments, and at once, though he had spent his w^hole ministerial life in the Presbyte- rian Church, identified himself with all the interests of our denomination. Indeed, he was only returning to his first home. His parents were members of the Col- legiate Church, in New- York, into whose communion he also was received on confession of his faith after graduating from Columbia College. His theological studies were pursued under the direction of Dr. Liv- 124 HISTOETCAL DISCOURSE. ingstoD, for whom he cherished an unbounded rever- ence, first as his pastor, then as his instructor, and throuo'h life as his cherished friend. The Colle2:e testi- fied their confidence in him by electing him a member of their Corporation, and the General Synod by elevat- ing him to the Presidency of that body in 1833. About the time of his settlement the plan of organ- izing a church at Middlebush was agitated, and pre. liminary measures taken to carry it into effect. A memorial was drawn up with great care by that por- tion of the congregation residing in this district and laid before the Consistory. The commissioners were Henry V. Demott and Frederick J. Van Liew. They argue in this paper the importance of establishing a church not only in that immediate neighborhood, but also on George's Road. The Consistory encouraged the movement, and by immediate resolution proposed to give, as their subscription, the parsonage lot of three acres on Somerset and Hamilton streets. Dr. Janeway was a warm advocate of this measure, and although it was not carried into effect during his ministry, yet he regarded the enterprise as essential to the prosperity of the church ; and, marking the indisposition of the 23eople to leave his ministry, in a spirit of great selfsacrifice he immediately determined to resign his charge, hoj^ing that this important plan would soon be accomplished. The expectation of the church that the ministry of Dr. Janeway would be of long continuance was to be disappointed. The extent of the congregation, the amount of labor incident to a great country as well as city charge, and the need of an immediate organization in some part of this extensive field, induced him to seek from the Classis a dissolution of the pastoral relation, which was effected February 24th, 1831, after serving the church only one year. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 125 After a sliort residence in tlie city of ISTew-Yorlv, Dr. Jane way returned to New-Briinswiek, and in 1833 was called to the Vice-Presidency of the College, and to the Professorship of Belles Lettres and the Evidences of Christianity, which positions he filled with eminent ability until his resignation in 1889. He died at his residence in Livino-ston Avenue on Sabbath evening, June 27th, 1858, in the eighty-fourth year of his age ; a man greatly beloved for his many virtues, and of distinguished position in the church. It was a sentiment to which this entire community re- sponded, uttered at his funeral by his intimate friend Dr. Hodge, "After a life devoted with singular simpli- city of purpose to the service of his Master, he descends to the grave with a reputation without a blot, followed by the benedictions of hundreds and by the respectful affection of thousands. A long, prosperous, happy, and useful life has been crowned with a truly Christian death." The resignation of Dr. Janeway in the winter of 1831 a2:ain left this church vacant. After makins; an effort to secure the services of E,ev. Samuel A. Van Vranken, and having the pulpit suj)plied by Rev. Henry Hermance for about six months, the choice of the church, as the eleventh pastor, was my immediate predecessor, EEV. SAMUEL B. HOW, D.D. Dr. How was born in the city of Burlington; gradu- ated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1811 ; was licensed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in 1813 ; first pastor for two years of the church of Salisbury, Pa. ; then five years of the church of Trenton, N. J. ; then two years as the minister of the Firet Presbyterian Church of 126 HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. this city ; tlien for seven years pastor of the Indepen- dent Church of Savannah ; and after laboring for a short time as President of Dickinson College, Pa., and also in a new enterprise in New- York, he was called to this church May 18th, 1832. You have now followed me to a period in the history of our church within the recollection of nearly every middle-aged man. The pastor who now filled this pul- pit is still living, and the time has not yet come to form an estimate of character or to sum up the record of re- sults. The briefest statement of facts occurrins: within the next thirty-five years will be all that is expected pre- vious to closins: our narrative. The period that now comes under review may be re- srarded as the era of church extension and revivals. In both of these departments there has been an advance beyond that of any preceding period. In regard to the muliplicatiou of churches, the following facts will arrest attention : Of the ten organizations now consti- tutin!7 the Classis of New-Brunswick, when Dr. How commenced his ministry, only two, in addition to our own, were in existence — the churches of Six Mile Kun and Hillsborough. The original Classis, numbering four- teen churches and\deven ministers, extended from Mid- dletown, in Monmou\li county, to Lebanon in Hunterdon, and embraced also three churches still farther north, in Orange county, N. Y. Now, within the same territory we have three Classes, thirty-four churches, with a body of forty ministers. That we have multiplied to the ex- tent that we should in all parts of the field is not to be presumed, and the question should j^ress upon us whe- ther we ought not to stretch abroad the curtains of our habitation. Almost the first act after the settlement of Dr. How HISTORICAL DISCOUnSE. 127 WHS the organization of tlie long talked of clitircli in tlie country portion of Lis cliarge. Once more the sub- ject came before the Consistory in a memorial from that part of the congregation residing in the vicinity of Mid- dlebnsh, and an earnest resolution was adopted that the time had now fully come in which to arise and build. The concurrence of the surrounding churches having l)een secured, by an act of Classis the Keformed Dutch Church of Middlebush" was organized March I7th, 1834, ])y a committee consisting of Rev. Messrs. Jacob I. Shultz, H. L. Rice, and A. D. Wilson. That church has always been looked upon ^vith interest as our own enterprise, and nothing affords the old First more joy than to learn of their prosperity. And to-day we oifer our congra- tulations that, under the administration of her young pastor, she is assuming new vigor, and is beautifying the sanctuary of the Lord. It pleased God, in the year 1837, to pour out his Spirit in a remarkable manner upon New-Brunswick, and bless this church with a revival of religion such as is seldom enjoyed. The work of grace commenced in the Baptist church some time in the month of March, and soon spread through all the other congregations. Of this re- vival, two interesting narratives were published at the time in the religious newspapers ; one by Dr. Jones, pas- tor of the Presbyterian church, and the other by Dr. How, giving a detailed account of the Avork in his own charge. In respect to this congregation Dr. How states that " for several years previous it had been peaceful and prosperous, and had steadily improved in its spirit- ual interests." Two events are sj^oken of in the nar- * The pastors settled at Middlebush have been Rev. J. T. Shultz, (1834-38,) Rev. John A. Van Dorcn, (1838-66,) and Rev. George W.' Swain, the present pastor. 128 nisTorjCAL discouese. rative as seeming to prepare tlie way for tliis great awakening; namely, the visitation of tlie cliolera in 1832, and the desolating tornado which swept through the city in June, 1835, laying whole streets in ruins and destroying several lives. The minds of the people were arrested and solemnized by these events, and in many instances saving impressions were produced. But in the latter part of May, 1837, the entire congregation seemed to be affected with a religious awe, and it v/as rare to meet with an individual who was not willins; to con- verse with his 23astor on his spiritual interests. Religious meetings were thronged, Sabbath days were seasons of refreshing, conversions were multiplied, and the entire population was moved by the Spirit of God. The result of this work of grace in this church was the addition of one hundred and thirty-seven to the communion, and about iive hundred to all the churches in the city. The work was very powerful in the Col- lege. In the graduating class of that year not one was left unvisited. • Out of the number who united with our church nine entered the gospel ministry, of whom two are now professors in our Theological Seminary — Rev. Drs. De Witt and Demarest. Many who were received into the membership of the church had been under serious impressions for six, nine, and twelve months, and some for two or three years. The means employed were the ordinary and estab- lished ordinances of gi'ace, and no new measures or novel doctrines were resorted to in order to feed a mere excitement. Religious meetings were indeed multi- plied, but they were for prayer and the preaching of the Word. The aid of other ministers was sought, but they were the pastors of neighboring churches and the professors in the institutions. The morning prayer- HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 129 meeting at six o'clock was ■uniformly crowded, and those who attended them will never forget the solemn awe that rested upon the assemblies. While there was far from the exhibition of any opposition, every one spoke of the revival with interest, and all seemed to come under the power of an influence which was not of man but of God. Dr. How remarks, in his narrative, that "there was no disorder, no confusion, no wild, mis- guided zeal. All was serious, solemn, calm, devout, and at times deeply affecting." And months after the work had ceased, the pastor states, as the effect produced upon the congregation, that there has been "an in- creased sj^irit of harmony and love among the people of God, and never was the congregation in a state of more entire peace or of greater prosperity than it now enjoys." This is one of the brightest spots in the history of the church, and it will be long before the members of this congregation and the citizens of New-Brunswick will cease to speak with the deepest emotion of the revival of 1837. In subsequent years it was the happiness of the pas- tor to witness other special seasons of ingathering. In 1843, thirty-three were added to the communion ; in 1853, twenty-seven; and in 1858, fifty-four; but the powerful work of grace in 1837 stands without a par- allel in the whole history of the church. Year after year there was the evidence of increased prosperity, and during the ministry of Dr. How the congregation had so enlarged in numbers that he re- ports to Classis three hundred and fifty families, and five hundred and forty-nine communicants upon the rolls. It was God's blessing poured out upon the faith- ful preaching of the AVord, and great diligence in the 9 130 HISTOEICAL DISCOUESE. discliarge of pastoral work. So will God bless us as we are faithful to liis truth, and conform ourselves to the sure teachings of his Providence. The large accession of numbers and growth of the church called for the organization of a second congre- gation of our order in the city. The blessing of God upon the labors of the pastor had filled this buikling to its utmost capacity, every seat was occupied, and it was felt that to send out a colony was not only desira- ble but an absolute necessity. Those who were the original movers in this enterprise, while they no doubt felt dee23ly the sundering of the tie by which they were bound to this ancient church, and could not but express regret at their parting from brethren to whom they were tenderly attached, and to a ministry that had been eminently blessed, were at the same time actuated by a conviction that another church was needed to meet the growing religious wants of this city. The plans of the organization having been perfected, Febru- ary 14th, 1843, there was organized in this building the Second Eeformed Dutch Church of New-Bruns- wick, by a committee of Classis ; and upon Rev. Dr. How devolved the pleasing duty of ordaining the first Consistory. Very soon after, the Second Church called as their first pastor Rev. Dr. Demarest, now of the Theological Seminary.* The subsequent history of this church proves that the men who originated it did not misinterpret the in- dications of Providence. And while we with them thank God for all the success with which they have been crowned, and bless Him for the tokens of His favor in * The following pastors have been settled in this church : Rev. David D. Demarest, D.D., (1813-52,) Eev. Samuel M. Woodbridge, D.D., (1852-57,) Rev. Hugh M. Wilson, D.D., (1858-62,) Rev. John W. Schcnck, (18G2-66,) Rev. Chester D. Hartranft, since 186G. IIISTOBICAL DISCOURSE. 131 tlieir rapid and healtliy growth, we will pray tliat botli of these churches in harmonious cooperation may seek the extension of the Kedeemer's kingdom, and from our communions there may go up to the heavenly man- sions, a host of redeemed and sanctified souls swelling the comj)any of the ransomed around the throne. The failure of Dr. How's health in the winter of 18(30 led him to seek rest from mental and physical exercise. Failing to receive the benefit which he hoped to derive from this temporary cessation from the labors of the ministry, he felt that the time had come for a dissolution of the pastoral connection. Accordingly, June 14th, 1861, he resigned his call into the hands of the Consistory, and his relations as the pastor of this church ceased. During his ministry there were received into the membership of the church five hundred and thirty-eight on profession, and two hundred and twen- ty-five by certificate from other churches, in all the large number of seven hundred and sixty-three. It is a pleasant record that " this relation had been continued nearly thirty years in a spirit of entire harmony, and that he left them in a highly prosperous condition." '" A long vacancy now ensued. But in the mean time the Consistory was not idle. In the summer of 1861, the old square pews were removed, and the building reseated and refurnished in the present modern and attractive appearance. The former dependent method of raising the salary by subscription was abandoned, and the present mode of making the pews assessable for the expenses of the church was adopted. Rev. Joseph A. Collier was called, but failing health induced *Ry the will of John B. Egcrton, in 1857, the church came into jpos- session of $1000, to be invested, and the interest used for the benefit of the Sabbath-school; and also $3003, "the interest of which shall be used as occasion may require for the church edifice and its appurtenances." 132 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. him to decline tlie invitation. An unsuccessful effort was also made to settle Kev. J. L. McNair. The pulpit remained vacant until December 3d, 1863, Avlien your present pastor was installed. The sermon was preached by Dr. How, from the words, "Who is sufficient for these things ?" During the short period of my ministry the church has come into the possession of the adjoining property, known as the "Old City Hall," by the gift of John Clark, at an expense of $3400. A beautiful and com- modious parsonage has been purchased, 106 George street, under the management of a committee consisting of John Clark, Johnson Letson, Joseph Fisher, Ira C. Voorhees, and John Johnson. The amount paid for the purchase and improvements was $5580. The ladies of the congregation have i3urchased and placed in the gallery a noble organ at an expense of $2625. There were upon our church rolls, in June, 1863, three hundred and. sixteen communicants. We have received during my ministry one hundred and sixteen by profession and seventy by certificate, in all one hun- dred and eightj^-six. Our j^resent communion embraces four hundred and sixteen members. I have thus traced the history of this church during a period of one hundred and fifty years. Great changes have been witnessed since your fathers laid the foun- dation of our civil, religious, and literary institutions. The insignificant hamlet that had grown up around Inians's Ferry of a few hundred inhabitants, has spread into this goodly city, with its churches, and College, and Seminary, and schools, and advantages of commerce and trade. The dense forests that surrounded New-Bruns- wick have given place to well-cultivated farms, and the thrift and enterprise of our rural poj^ulation. The Ra- HISTORICAL DISCOUESE. 1S3 ritans, wlio have gireu a name to our beautiful river, Iiave long since clisapj^earecl. The obscure paths through dee-p forests along which Dominie Frelinghuysen found his way to his distant preaching places, have been ex- changed for these iron roads that course our State, the route of a mighty traffic. The little church in Burnet street, scarce accommodating three hundred worship- ers, has given place to two flourishing congregations, with these ample buildings inviting more than two thousand souls to hear the Gos2:)el. That God was with your fathers is the record of our history. Since January, 1720, twelve ministers have held the pastoral office. Of this number four, Freling- huysen, Leydt, J. R. Hardenbergh, and Condict, died while in the service of the church. Five of your min- isters have held professorships in our literary and theo- lo2:ical institutions. Four are still livius;. One fact in our history worthy of special interest is the large number of young men who have been con- nected with our church and have entered the gospel ministry. We have upon our roll of communicants the names of fifty-one who here made a profession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have been commis. sioned to preach the Gospel of salvation.""* In addition to this number, upward of fifty were received by cer- tificate from other churches, and were subsequently numbered among the ministry. While we have reason to thank God that He has raised up from the midst of us so many whom he has honored to be standard-bear- ers in His army, we will remember with even deeper gratitude that among the most devoted of our foreign missionaries, Eev. David Abeel, D.D., Rev. Frederick B. * See Appendix V. 1^4 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, Tliomj)soii, and Lis wife, Catherine Wyckoff, "were born in this city, were baptized and educated in this congregation, were members of the catechetical class and Sabbath-school, and were here received into the full communion of the church." We have gathered together some items in our his- tory, but have made no attempt to sum up the actual amount of good accomplished by this Christian church. The souls that have here been educated for heaven, the l:>enefactions that have here been poured into the treas- ury of the Lord, the influence that has gone forth from this house of prayer, the power that has here been felt, is known only to God. The existence of a single Chris- tian church in a community is an unspeakable blessing, and eternity alone can unfold the results of her mission. While gratitude is awakened in view of the past, our history calls us to be faithful to the present. We in our generation are making a history, and those who come after us will write up the record of our lives and doings. Shall our history be as worthy as that of the fxthers ? We meet, to-day, a congregation of the living in the midst of the dead. Around us are the monu- ments of the departed. The sacred dust of ministers, elders, members of this church. Presidents and Profes- sors of our College and Seminary, surround these walls. This ancient graveyard is the resting place of the illus- trious dead. Perhaps no spot of ground has crowded within its inclosure names so dear and honored through- out the whole bounds of our denomination as that which lies beneath the shadow of this venerable build- ing. A walk through this unpretending cemetery will bring before your eye the names of men which are common property to the Church of Christ. Aside from the patriots of the K evolution who are resting here HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 135 until the morning of tlie resurrection ; and elders who in their infancy were baptized by the hand of Freliug- liuysen, and in their maturity were received into the communion under the ministry of Leydt ; and women who helped in the Gospel of Christ ; there are beloved pastors, and learned professors, and noble benefactors, who will awake when the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, and come forth. It is meet that the pre- cious dust of Hardenbergh, and Condict, and Living- ston, and Woodhull, and De Witt, and Schureman, and Van Benschoten, and Ludlow, and Van Vranken, and Cannon, and Theodore Frelinghuysen should here re- pose in waiting for the glorious resurrection unto eternal life. We do not wonder that, on reading the inscrip- tions on these monuments, one has been reminded " of that place of sepulchre in the neighborhood of London called Bunhill Fields, where are deposited the remains of such men as Bunyan, and Baxter, and Watts, and a host of others of whom the world was not worthy." Blessed indeed is the memory of the fathers of this church, and noble their toils and sacrifices for the ad- vancement of the Redeemer's kingdom. "The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers." They have left their names and deeds, and have passed away. Do they not appeal to us to do more for Christ than they have done? The circumstances that surround us for promoting the Redeemer's kingdom are far more favor- able than those which the fathers enjoyed. We have grown in numbers and in resources ; we may derive ad- vantage from the experience and study lessons from the errors of the past ; while all these organizations of modern times were unknown to those who have gone before us. Though the oldest organization of our city, this church 136 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. has not outlived lier influence. Sliall we not recognize our responsibility, awakened by the position we occupy and the history of God's dealings with us ? Am I wrong in cherishing for this ancient church the brighest hopes? Progress is the law of Christian life. May we not, then, anticipate growth in the piety of her members, in the liberality of her benefactions, and in the efficiency of her labors for Christ? The most wonderful develojD- ments of Divine Providence are now in progress. Move- ments are going on in our world which are tending to advance the kingdom of our Lord. Let us watch the signs of the times and make our church life throb with the impulse of a Christian activity. And let this church always stand among her sister churches of this city, established upon the true principles of the Gospel, maintaining the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in its purity, and built on Him as the chief corner-stone. Part S ART Second. ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES, I' M,nh n mnmn RICHARD H. STEELE, D.D. ANNIVEESAKY EXERCISES. At a meeting of the Consistory of the First Reformed Dutch Church of N'ew-Brunswick, N. J., held April 11th, 186T, the pastor stated that tlie church would complete the one hundred and fiftieth year of her history during the present season. Wliereui3on, the following action was unanimously adopted : " Resolved^ That we hereby express our devout thanksgiving to God for the establishment and preservation of this church during so long a period, and that the event be celebrated with suitable commemorative religious exercises. '"'' Resolved^ That we cordially invite all who have been as- sociated with our church, or who are interested in our history, to unite with us on the interesting occasion of the celebration of our one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. " Resolved^ That our pastor. Rev. Richard H. Steele, be in- vited to deliver, on the day which shall be appointed, a his- torical discourse, commemorative of the founding of this Chris- tian church." The committee who were appointed to take charge of the arrangements for the occasion selected Tuesday, October 1st, for the proposed celebration. The day of the anniv^ersary was one of the most beautiful of the season. The invitation which had been circulated brought together hundreds of the friends of the church and former members of the congregation, to unite with us on this commemorative occasion. MORNIXG EXERCISES. At ten o'clock, the venerable church edifice, which had been tastefully decorated for the occasion with evergreens ornamented with flowers, was filled with a large congregation. 140 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. Tlie portraits of Drs. Ira Condict, Jolin Ludlow, and Jacob J. Janeway, former pastors of the clinrcli, were suspended be- hind the pulpit. In the centre was a painting of Dr. John H. Livingston, beneath which was a drawing of the old stone church erected in 1Y67, on the site of the present edifice. At the right and left of the pulpit ■wei'e placed the figures lYlY and 18G7. Around the gallery were displayed the names of the twelve pastors of the church. Over the pulpit was in- scribed the motto, " The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers." In front of the orchestra was the appro- priate sentence, " Praise ye the Lord." The pulpit was occupied by the pastor, Her. Isaac Fer- ris, D.D., Eev. Gabriel Ludlow, D.D., and Rev. Thomas De Witt, D.D. Besides these, the following clergymen were noticed in the audience : Rev. Drs. Berg, "VVoodbridge, John De Witt, Dema- rest, Campbell, Sears, Kip, Ilageman, Cole, Du Bois, P. D. Van Cleef, C. C. Van Cleef, See, B. C. Taylor, W. J. R. Tay- lor, Proudfit, and Stryker ; and Rev. Messrs. Ten Eyck, Brett, Corwin, W. H. Steele, Alonzo Peek, Lloyd, Bodine, Van ^este, Swain, Willis, Buckelew, Le Fevre, P. Q. Wilson, Manley, Peter Quick, Ward, F. Wilson, C. Wyckoff, A. V. Wyckoff, David Van Doren, A. M. Quick, Enyard, H. P. Thompson, Hartranft, D. A. Jones, McKelvey, Suydam, Riley, Doolittle, and Phraner, of the Reformed Dutch Church ; Rev. Dr. Devan, of the Baptist ; Rev. Dr. Boggs, of the Episcopa- lian ; Rev. Jacob Cooper and Rev Robert Proudfit, of the Presbyterian ; and Rev. Messrs. Lawrence Dunn and Thorn, of the Methodist. The religious services commenced with an invocation by the Rev. Dr. Ludlow, who also read the One Hundred and Thirty-second Psalm. A select piece was then sung by the choir, after which prayer was ofiered by Rev. Dr. Ferris. The following hymn, written for the occasion by Rev. Peter Stry- ker, D.D., was then sung : ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 141 CELEBRATION HYMN. TcNE — Varina. A HUNDRED years have come and gone, And filt}' more have flown, Since Thou, O Lord ! this church ordained. And called this flock thy own. The men who then were in their prime, And children in their bloom, With myriads more, who since have lived. Are sleeping in the tomb. Time, on its rapid flowing tide, Sweeps all our race away ; Pastors and people seek the dust. And buildings show decay. But 'mid the wrecks of hoary time The church securely stands, Increasing only with its age, And sending forth its bands. And now, God ! we crowd thy gates ; Wc join in psalms of praise ; With angels and the host redeemed Our fervent songs we raise. We give Thee thanks for blessings past ; We plead for grace to come ; Oh ! lead us in our future course, And bring us safely home ! Come, Holy Spirit, like the dew, And fertilizing showers, That fall on Ilermon's lofty peak. And CarmeFs blooming flowers. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Visit this flock to-day ! Be thou their God for centuries yet, Their Everlasting Stay. The Historical Discourse contained in the preceding pages was then delivered by the pastor, after which the following ode, written for tlie occasion by Professor David Murray, was sunjr : 142 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. Tune — Auld Lang Syne. All honor to the names of those "Who first these regions trod, And in God's fear, here sought to rear This Zion of our God. Chorus. — Let hearts be glad and lips rejoice At what we see to-day ; With organ peal and living voice Unite our thanks to pay. With brave old Holland hearts they crossed Through ocean's wave and wind ; And naught of trust in God they l«$t, Nor left their faith behind. Chorus. — Let hearts, etc. Here in the wilds, they sought to raise An altar to their God ; And train their children in the ways In which their fathers trod. Chorus. — Let hearts, etc. And while they plowed with zeal and thrift. And. filled their barns with corn ; They sought from God the better gift Each evening and each morn. Chorus. — Let hearts, etc. From Heidelberg and Dort they brought The dear old creed and psalm ; And with their quaint old music broke The wilderness's calm. Chorus. — Let hearts, etc. Through all these years, what burdening fears Have here besought relief ! Here sorrowing saints have dried their tears. And soothed awaj' their grief. Chorus. — Then let our hearts and lips rejoice, And cheerful music raise ; ! With organ peal and living voice, Give God his due of praise. The morning services were concluded with the benediction by Kev. Thomas De Witt, D.D. ANNIVEllSARY EXERCISES. 143 In tlie old court-house, adjoining the church, the ladies of the congregation had prepared a bountiful collation, to which the hundreds of friends who were in attendance on the anni- versary were invited. AFTERNOON EXERCISES. At three o'clock, the audience again assembled in the church, when the services were opened by an appropriate voluntary by the choir. The venerable Eev. Thomas De Witt, D.D., having been in- vited to preside, made the opening address. He expressed the pleasure he had enjoyed in listening to the thoroughly-prepared discourse commemorative of the history of this ancient church by its pastor. It is the mother church of many in the adjacent field, which has ever been so interest- ing and valuable a portion in our Reformed Dutch Church. The name of the first Dominie, Frelinghuysen, is well known, not only in the annals of our own church, but also in those of the religious history of our country. Dr. De Wirt remarked that, not many years ago, he found in the hands of a Hollander a volume entitled, "Life and Letters of Sicco Tjadde." Tjadde was a devoted and successful minister in Priesland. He had been written to in reference to procuring a minister for the early settlements in ISTew-Jersey. The cir- cumstances connected with the acquaintance he gained with Mr. Frelinghuysen shed light upon the character he sustained of great spirituality of mind, close evangelical preaching, and entire fidelity and faithfulness. It is to be regretted that tliis volume was not secured at the time. It contains several let- ters between Mr. Frelinghuysen and Tjadde, after his removal to America. A powerful revival attended Mr. Frelinghuysen's labors, the fruits of which are noticed by Tennent and Presi- dent Edwards as existing previous to the great revival under Whitefield. Salt was then spread around, which still is found, not having lost its savor. Dominie Frelinghuysen had a par- ticular friend of his early days — Dorsius, of the German Ee- formed Church, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania — and a helper to him in revival scenes. They each of them received classical 144 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. students, and several of tlie American ministers, as Goetcliiiis, Yerbryck, Thomas Eomeyn, etc., were educated under Mr. Frelingliujsen. The subject of creating an academy was early advocated before the Classis of Amsterdam, without any action resulting. After the disruption of the churches, in 1755, into Coetus and Conferentie, on the question of independent eccle- siastical judicatories and the education and training of our ministry here, in 1758 Rev. Theodoras Frelinghuysen, of Al- bany, son of the elder Frelinghuysen, was commissioned to Holland, to labor for the erection of a college, by obtaining the consent of the judicatories in that country. He was lost at sea on his return. Ecclesiastical recognition was refused, until Dr. Livingston, pursuing his studies in Holland, re- turned with the olive branch, and the breach was healed. This was the same year, 1770, when the charter of Queen's College was obtained. Dr. De Witt then referred to Dominie Leydt, who is first heard of in Dutchess county, near one of the congregations over which he was placed in his early ministry. The testi- mony of aged persons with whom he conversed represented him as of great respectability of character, and honored by the church and community. He took a leading part in the Coetus controversy, and published two or three pamphlets. Dr. Har- denbergh was from one of the most distinguished families in Ulster county, not far from the place of Dr. De Witt's na- tivity. During the years of his ministry at Marbletown and Eochester, in that county, he was the pastor of his mother's family. The uniform testimony given by those acquainted with him there exhibits him in the same character of mental, spiritual, and official excellence wliich rendered him so dis- tinguished in New-Jersey. In 1810, when Dr. Livingston removed from New- York and opened the Theological Seminary, Dr. De Witt entered it, and had the privilege of being received into the family of the Rev. Dr. Condict, and had thus an opportunity of forming an esti- mate of his character. AVith little of animal spirits, and, per- haps, in the depth of his humility, inclined to despondency, there was a uniform breathing of deep piety. lEis counsels were always wise, and marked with practical sound sense. ANNIVERSARY E5ERCISES. 145 Ilis preaching:, witliout brilliancy, was always sound, instruc- tive, and experimental. At this time. Queen's College had been revived, and he Avas the acting President. lie stood among the most distinguished in the church for faithful and useful labors in the revival of the College. In the summer of 1811, he was seized with violent disease. Daring the progress of the sickness, his soul was in conflict as to his spiritual state. On the night of his death, when it was supposed he was sink- ing fast, he aroused, and spoke calmly, deliberately : " Jesus is mine, and I am his. I know whom I have believed. He givetli me the victory." On the Sabbath following the death of Dr. Condict, as the work of pulling down the old church had commenced. Dr. Livingston preached a sermon in the Presbyterian church on the text, " I am the God of Bethel," which was one of the most powerful he ever preached. His allusion to the cotemporaneous breaking down of the earthly tabernacle of Dr. Condict and of the church edifice wherein he had labored so long was most happy. ADDRESS OF KEV. SAMUEL M. WOODBRIDGE, D.D. Dr. "Woodbridge represented the Theological Seminary, and spoke substantially as follows : I bring to this venerable church the salutations of the most ancient theological seminary in America. It is proper we should mingle in your festivities ; for not only have the inte- rests of the church and the school of the prophets been almost identical, but we have received from you benefits we ought and do now gratefully acknowledge in the name of genera- tions of the sons of the prophets. It is not merely that you have assisted the Seminary pecuniarily, nor that you have given two of your pastors to be its professors, but that to your solemn assembly we have been permitted to come from week to week to gain strength for the duties of life, and to express publicly to God the adoration of our spirits. For there is nothing can take the place in the Christian life of the worship of the great congregation ; no private study or meditation, no instructions in the lecture-room, no private or social prayer. It is to the house of God the Christian tm-ns when he would 10 146 ANNIVERSAEY EXERCISES. find rest, and here lie finds the special supply for tlie great want of his spiritual nature. Here hundreds of our ministry, perhaps the majority of those now living, have joined in praise and supplication, here have listened with gladness to the sounds of the blessed Gospel, and here have gathered around the holy supper to commemorate the dying love of the Lord, and gone away refreshed, and to carry the influences here received through all future life. I have felt for years, and the feeling increases, that we can hardly overrate the influence of the pastors of these churches upon the students who look to tliem as living exemplars of what, in the Seminary, can only be taught as the- ory; and I can not here forbear giving testimony (and I am sure I speak the sentiment of all who have been witnesses) to the faithfuhiess of that servant of Christ who yet lingers amongst us, and who for thirty years ministered to this peo- ple ; and I am sure all my brethren will agree in saying that never have we seen in liim an act unbecoming a pastor over, the flock of God, nor have heard from him a sentiment un- soifnd or unevangelical. But the church has also received great benefits from the Seminary, too great to be told. Here its professors, one after another, have preached the Word of Life. I shall never forget the impression made upon me when I first entered this house and thought of the eloquent, and venerable, and godly men who had here proclaimed the truth. It seems as if upon these walls yet lingered the echoes of their voices — the voices of Livingston, Schureman, "Woodhull, De "Witt, Ludlow, Cannon,Yan Vranken, and McClelland. These stones may be silent, but the words of these men yet resound in living hearts. What thoughts arise at the mention of a hundred and fifty years in connection with the history of this church ! As Dr. De Witt was speaking of the death of Dr. Condict, I was led to think of the unwritten history of the Church of Christ. IIow little we know of the true glory of the church, buried out of our sight, seen only by the eye of God and of angels ! Those deep experiences of the saints, those inward joys and griefs with which no stranger intermeddleth, those prayers with strong crying and tears, those triumphs of the soul over fear, and death, and hell — what know we of these ? We see but just ANNIVEESARY EXERCISES. 147 the surface of tins great ocean, whose depths are penetrated b}'' tlic eye of Ilini who searcheth all things. How glorious must have been this secret history for a hundred and fifty years ! What a work, too, has been accomplished here, a work so wonderful that the angels have gazed upon it with joy and praise ! The arrest of the sinner on the path of death, the con- viction, the illumination, the conversion, the repentance, the faith. on the Son of God, the struggle against sin, the wres- tling of the soul against princij^alities and powers, the victory — who can doubt angels have been within these walls anxious spectators? A greater than angels has been here in the midst of his brethren ; and he also, who on the day of Pentecost came down like a rushing mighty wind, has made this place awful and this city tremble by His presence. How many of those now in their graves have been cheered and comforted here ; and this leads us to think of the close connection of the earthly and the heavenly church. The living and the dead arc one in Christ, nay, the dead are the living. We have sometimes i-egrctted that our cemeteries are being so removed from the churches. There is a beauty in the spectacle of the graves by the house of God, as if signifying that the church has not lost its interest in those reposing in the dust. They are still citi- zens in the kingdom of Christ, that glorious kingdom which disregards death, extending into the heaven of heavens, and in its vast circumference taking in the general assembly and church of the first born, and the spirits of the just made per- fect, reaching also to our poor world and embracing the mise- rable and fallen, the trembling sinners who seek refuge in Jesus. And we arc reminded, too, of the perpetuity of the church. Our fathers, where are they ? and the prophets, do they live forever? The fathers are gone, but instead of the fatliers are the children. The church can not perish, because God is her life. Human associations rise and pass away, but the society of Jesus, by a few simple appointments of her divine head, sends down her name and principles from generation to gene- ration. In her history a century and a half is but a brief period. She counts her years by thousands. Arts, codes of laws, kingdoms perish, the earth may be removed, and the 148 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. mountains carried into the midst of tlie sea, but the city of God remaineth. ADDRESS OF REV. CHARLES S. HAGEJIxYN, D.D. Dr. Hageman represented the ministry that had been reared by this church. In a feeling and impressive manner he de- scribed the scene when thirty years ago he stood here and gave himself to God and to the ministry of reconciliation, and gave some interesting incidents connected with the great re- vival which shook the city and brought so many into the church, when so many of his class were converted and dedi- cated themselves to the ministry. He alluded to the ability, the fidelity, and zeal of the former pastor of this church, (Dr. How,) and to others who had preceded him, to illustrate the influence of the ministry, and to show the influence of this church ; that the fires that had been kindled upon this altar had burned upon many other altars lighted by those who had gone from this church ; that by her ministry she had exerted an influence both in church and state which could not be fully known. The influence of a ministry of one hundred and fifty years was inconceivable; that such men as Frelinghuysen and Leydt had prepared the way for the establishment of our in- stitutions, and of civil and religious liberty; that they had been faithful to the cause of their country, had labored ardu- ously and successfully for God, and their country, and human- ity during the Revolution, and others with their spirit had battled nobly for truth, and justice, and liberty in the conflicts of later days, and helped to free it from oppression. He hesitated not to afiirm that the state, with her illustrious names of senators, governors, statesmen, owed more to the ministry for the welfare of the country than she would ac- knowledge. Some of these men had lived previous to the establishment of our literary and theological institutions ; before the great benevolent enterprises of the church were undertaken ; they prepared the way for them, and indeed made their organiza- tion necessary. He referred to the fact that no record had been found to in- dicate the burial-place of the first pastor of the church, as an ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 149 illustration of the neglect witli which great men are sonietitnes treated. One of the striking results of the labors of some of tlieso pastors was that many young men were induced to enter the ministr3\ In this respect they were worthy of our example. lie said that the influence of the ministry that had gone forth from the church was inconceivable. To have some idea of it, it would be necessary to collect together those who had been saved by them, all the kind, words spoken, the hearts comforted, the minds impressed and directed; to look into the goldeif censer and see the prayers offered by them, to see the harvest from the good seed sown, and even to look within the vail to those redeemed and saved through this ministry. The influence of a faithful ministry was cumulative, like the rising sun culminating in noontide glory, like the flowing tide increas- ino- in volume and streno;tli until it overflows the strand. He urged his brethren to thank God and take courage, for though ministers died and passed away, yet the Lord lived and his church would triumph. ADDEESS OF KEV. W^ILLIAZSI H. CAMPBELL, D.D. Dr. Campbell, President of the College, said : I flnd the meaning of this day's exercises, as well as the war- rant for them, in Psalm 48 : 12-14, " Walk about Zion, and n-o round about her : tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces ; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God forever and ever : he will be our guide even unto death." In obedience to the command, we have walked about this Zion ; we have gone round about her for the hundred and flfty years of her history, we have told her towers, marked well her bulwarks, and considered her palaces. And now in view of it all we cry, "We have thought of thy loving kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple." " Out of Zion, the perfec- tion of beauty, God hath shined." It is emphatically a histo- ry of divine loving-kindness. And with grateful hearts and strong confidence in a covenant-keeping God this church will tell to generations following what God has done for them, and 150 ANNIVEESAEY EXERCISES. will assure the cliildren and the cliildren's children that this God, who has done all these great things for the fathers, is oar God forever and ever ; he will be onr guide even unto death. And now, in a word, what has God done so signally for this church ? What are these towers, bulwarks, and palaces which he has here erected ? Let us have definite notions on this point, for indeliniteness here will be imparted to our thankful- ness, and to all the experiences and duties which are founded iij)on it. And the great noteworthy fact in this history of a hundred and fifty years is this : God has Diade this church a iiniforTn attestant^ in doctrine and life, of the truths for the teaching of v)hich he founded the church. The great purpose of the founding of the church is given by Zechariah, in the fourth chapter of his prophecy. The s^-m- bol of the golden candlestick, with its seven branches and its seven times seven pipes for the full supply of the oil of illu- mination, teach, that the church is to shed abroad the light of divine truth in the world ; and the " two anointed ones," (verse fourteen,) denoting Joshua the high-priest and Zerubbabel the king, the two official ones of the theocracy at the time of the vision, symbolize the two great doctrines of religion — the high priest Joshua symbolizing the atonement, the divinely ap- pointed sacrifice for sin ; and Zerubbabel the king symbolizing the doctrine of obedience, in other words, the sanctifhcation of those for whom atonement had been made. These two truths are the great doctrines for the dissemination of which the church was founded. And here for a hundred and fifty years, in the pulpit and in the life of this church, these two doctrines have been uniformly, persistently, unceasingly held up to the world. Here hundreds and thousands have heard these truths, and witnessed the influence of them, and been blessed by the preaching and example. All the life of this church has been spent in exhibiting these truths and in furthering the influence of them. What church can show such a galaxy of pastors as this? They, twelve in number, from Frelinghuysen down, may be fitly called the twelve apostles of this church. It was for the furtherance of these two great truths that Queen's, now Eutgers, College was founded. The thought of ANNIVEKSAKY EXERCISES. 151 tlie College originated witli Frelingluiysen, tlie pastor of this cliorcli, and the thought was carried out and made a fact by Dominie Leydt, Dr. Condict, Dr. Ilardenbergh, and all the others. And the College was placed here rather than else- where just because this church was here, and because the Col- lege was the natural outgrowth of the life of this individual church. And whatever Kutgers College now is or may here- after become it owes, in large measure, to this churcli, just as the child owes its future well being to the parent. Key. T. J. Frelinghuysen, as I have already said, conceived the idea of the College. And you have heard from the Historical Dis- course of your pastor, delivered this day, what the pastors Leydt, Hardenbergh, Condict, and Sclmreman, and the others^ did for it. This church gave the time of Drs. Ilardenbergh and Condict as instructors in the College ; it has always given money liberally for its endowment and prosperity. On the last effort for its endowment the work began in this church. Dr. How, the pastor, presented the subject to the people on the Sabbath morning and declared that the success of the measure depended upon what the members of the Dutch churches in ISTew-Brunswick thought of the College and did for it. He said the College must have a recommendation from our churches in New-Brunswick in form of a large subscrip- tion to endowment, or it could not succeed. Then on the next day he called on you at your houses, and you, as well as him- self, did give nobly. And as Dr. How, your pastor, and you, the people, then did, so your pastors and this people have ever done for the College from the beginning down to the present day. And all this has been done that Christ, the atoning sac- rifice for sin, and the Holj^ Ghost, the sanctifier fur pardoned sinners, might be known, believed on, and everywhere influen- tial. And thus the great purpose for which the College was founded was to hold up these two great truths. How great, then, the influence of this church ! Dr. Thomas De Witt, a few moments since, comj)ared that influence to a river. The figure is eminently scriptural. How beautifully and clearly is all this brought to view in Ezekiel's vision of the Holy Waters, (chapter 47.) The prophet sees waters issu- ing forth from the house of God, and they pass along at the 152 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. ' soutli side of tlie altar of atonement. Now, these waters are the streams of influence for good which go forth from God's house and God's people. Their flowing forth from the sanc- tuary, and in such close proximity to the altar of burnt ofl^er- ino;, shows not onlv the source whence the influence comes, but also the only ground upon which any influence can be availing for good ; it must stand in the closest connection with the atoning sacriflce of Jesus Christ. Mark, too, the growth of the stream. At a thousand cubits from their source the waters reach to the prophet's aidcles, a thousand cubits fur- ther they reach to his knees, a thousand cubits further they reach to his loins, a thousand cubits further and the waters had become a river which the prophet could not pass over; the ■waters had risen and had become waters to swim in. How vast, then, the growing influence of good men ! Mark, too, the eflfects of these constantly augmenting waters. They flow on in full stream to the Dead Sea, the Sea of Sodom — that spot which, above every other on earth, stands as the symbol of spiritual death and of the wrath of God. And as soon as the full stream reaches the desolate spot, all revives. The waters of the Dead Sea are healed, they abound with fish, and men spread their nets from town to town upon its once more thick- ly populous shores. How striking and beautiful is this lesson ot the prophet! The influence of the church, exemplifying in teaching and life the renewing and sanctifying doctrines of Christ, shall convert the spots of earth where spiritual death reigns into a para- dise of God, Such is the history of this church which you are to tell to the generation following, assuring them that " this God is our God forever and ever ; He w^ill be our guide even unto death." ADDRESS OF KEV. P. D. VAN CLEEF, D.D. As we fullow the history of the church of God, we seem to be tradngthe course of some noble river as it rises in a clear mountain spring, and rolls on through rocky gorges and ver- dant meadows, fertilizing every land, and bearing upon its bosom rich argosies freighted with the happiness and the hopes ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 153 of liiimanitj. The liistorj of eacli congregation resembles that of tlie clinrch at large, and is marked, both in its origin and progress, by the same -wonderful providences. With deep interest and devont thankfulness we have followed your be- loved pastor this morning, as he piloted us along the course of this tributary of the great river of life. We have rejoiced in the shade, and have been refreshed by the fruit of the trees that lined its banks. This stream, like the famous river of Egypt, has diverged into numerous branches, which have irri- gated many a harvest-field. One of these water-courses it has been made my pleasing duty to explore, and I bring 3'ou some of the fruits found growing in the fields it has fertilized. We have heard of the long line of pastors who, for the space of one hundred and fifty years, have served this church. Let me speak of those who have been converted under their minis- fry, and have gone forth to perpetuate their influence. In this way we may gain some conception of the moral forces that have been developed here during five generations. The influ- ence of this church has no geographical limit. The world has been its field. The good it has done is not to be estimated by the number who have gone from this sanctuary to swell the redeemed throng before the throne of God and the Lamb. How often have angelic messengers ascended to heaven with glad tidings, as one after another, parent and child, through successive generations, has been born into this household of faith, and taken his place at the sacramental table, and become a light in the world, and a grain of salt to spread the savor of a godly life. But how grandly that idea of influence looms up when we remember that nearly fifty young men, admitted to their first communion here, have gone into the world to preach the everlasting Gospel. Some of them, doubtless, had been trained in youth under other faithful pastors ; but here they first publicly gave themselves to Christ. It can not be out of place on this memorable day to recall the names of our brethen who, though absent in body, many of them, are with us in spirit. The following list includes only those who were received on confession of ffiith. (For a list of members who have gone from this church to preach the Gospel, see Ai^pendix V.) There are nearly as many 154 ANKIVEESARY EXERCISES. more who wore members by certificate at tlie time of their licensure ; for at one period tlie most of our graduates were, for the sake of convenience, licensed by the Classis of New- Brmiswick. Many of these have ceased from their labors on earth ; the remainder, with a few exceptions, occasioned by age or phy- sical disability, are actively employed. Time will not permit me to speak of all these brethren and fathers. I must recall the name of one, however, who was cut off in early life. Abraham Y. Wyckoff was a child of this church. Amiable, studious, and consistent, he was beloved by all. Ilis examination for ordi- nation took place at the same time with my own, before the Classis of Greene, within the bounds of which he spent the greater portion of his ministry, which it pleased the Master to limit to six short years, when he was called to receive his crown. And now pause and reflect upon the influence that has gone forth from this church through the sons she has given to the ministry. The average ministerial career of thirty-six of these pastors is, up to this time, twenty-three years, and the aggre- gate, eight hundred and twenty-four years. They have pro- bably preached a hundred thousand sermons, and have been instrumental in bringing many others into the ministry. And yet how feeble the conception we can gain from all this of the power of a single church among the moral forces which, under Providence, control the destinies of the world. But the sons of this church have been called to other posi- tions. Four of them have filled, and three are now occupying professorial chairs. Others have carried the Gospel to the heathen. The records of the church are adorned Avith the names of David Abeel, Frederick B. Thompson, and William H. Steele. These were the men wdio hazarded their lives for the Gospel. The flrst was the pioneer missionary of our church to the Chinese Empire, and the others remained and labored on the island of Borneo until the last hope of estab- lishing our mission there had expired. Yet they labored not in vain. The Dyak people were not converted and made a Christian nation, as we fondly hoped ; but may we not in- dulge the pleasing thought that at least one Dyak voice shall AXXIYERSARY EXERCISES. 155 Mt last mingle witli tlie liimdrecls and tlionsands from China in tlie everlasting song of the redeemed ; that some will rise up from the Archipelago, as well as from the Celestial Empire, to bless this church, and to bless the men who carried the Gospel to benighted Asia ? Thus this church has spread like the great banyan tree of the East. A branch has stretched across the con- tinent and taken root in the fertile soil of the "West, Another has reached over the ocean and rooted itself in the eastern hemisphere. These spring up, and in their turn take root again ; and thus the process will go on until all the living churches of God shall have intertwined their spreading branches, and formed one vast tree of life under which the nations shall find a shelter. It would be interesting to know by what steps God, in his providence, has conducted each of his servants into the minis- try. I can not speak for others, but may be pardoned for say- ing that, in reviewing the chain of providences that led me to become a minister, the link that I recall most distinctly was a simple question from my pastor, the Kev. Dr. How, when, a Sab- bath-school scholar, during the precious revival of 1837, I was examined for admission to the communion of this church. He said, " Have you thought that you would like to stndy for the ministry?" I could give no direct answer, but the words dropped like seed-corn in the soil of memory and reflection, and they germinated and grew into a desire, and then ripened into a purpose to preach the Gospel. Oh ! how much a faithful pastor can do, by the most simple and easy methods, to kindle a desire for usefulness in the young heart, and how great the debt of gratitude he has a right to claim from those whom he has instrumentally led into the gospel ministry. I take plea- sure to-day in recognizing this obligation to my former vene- rated pastor, to whose repeated conversations in his study I was so much indebted, when, with unwearied kindness, he in- structed me, removed my doubts and difficulties, and threw the light of wisdom and experience on my path. Pardon this personal digression. Do not weigh in the bal- ances of cold propriety words forced from the lips by the gushing memories of the past, those " liappy, golden days," when even the sky seemed brighter and the earth greener 156 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. after tlic reviving showers of the Holy Spirit. Who can for- get a revival, when associated with the memories of his early Christian life and love ? Who can forget the communion Sab- baths that dawned so beautiful and bright ? I recall one of them. It was a lovely September morning, in 1837. Memory brings back the crowded congregation ; the tremulous voice of Elder Stothoff*, as it rose from this platform and mingled Avith the swelling volume of song that filled the sanctuary with the fragrant incense of praise ; the earnest prayer ; the rich gospel sermon ; the old sacramental form, so redolent of Calvary and Gethsemane ; the long list of names of those welcomed for the first time to the table, and mine among them ; and then the bread and Avine touched w^ith trembling hands and quivering lips ; the words of exhortation ; and the hymn of tlianksgiving. My vision of that sacramental Sabbath would not be complete without the tall form of gray-haired Cisesar leading the large number of colored communicants from the gallery up the aisle to the table, Avhere our pastor welcomed them with the same invitation to the gospel feast. And I used to think he some- times kept his best thoughts for them, and his words were so simple and touching as lie spoke of the dear Saviour who pro- mised that all his people should drink with him " The grape's first juice, Fresh from the deathless vine that blooms in heaven." But I must close. Let me leave as a theme for reflection, The self-perpetuating power of the cliurch through the ministry which she is raising u-p. You remember the incident of the conversion of a Hessian drummer-boy, under a sermon of Dr. Livingston, in a barn at Poughkeepsie during the Revolution. That boy was Cliristian Bork, under whose ministry John Scudder was converted, the father of our beloved missionaries in India. Let the church remember the promises of enlarge- ment and triumph which Christ has left her, and never forget his command to " pray the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers into his harvest." " lie who slumbereth not nor sleepeth, His ancient watch around us keepeth ; ANNIVERSAEY EXERCISES'. 157 Still sent from his creating hand, New witnesses for truth shall stand — New instruments to sound abroad The Gospel of a risen Lord." ADDRESS OF REV. D. D. DEMAREST, D.D. I feel honored in having been selected to present on this occasion the salutations of the churches that have been organ- ized chiefly with members from this venerable congregation. The daughters come with hearty and joyous greetings to their mother, and on this her one hundred and fiftieth birthday anniversary compliment her on her continued freshness and beauty, and the proofs she is giving of undiminished vitality and energy. They come with prayers that God will bless her as she has never been blessed before, and that in the time to come many daughters may be born to her who shall rise up and call her blessed. A little band of three sisters aj)pears to-day. 1. Spotswood, organized about the year 1820, and so approaching the close of her first half-century. A church that, owing to the force of circumstances beyond human control, has never reached a point that entitled her to be called a strong and influential church. Yet she has been a steadily shining light. Throngli all these years she has perseveringly maintained the public worship of God, and furnished healing, rest, and a home for many a sick and burdened and wandering souL The little band of disciples there are to-day proving the reality of their spiritual life by zealous and self-denying efforts in tlie erection of a new house of worship. 2. Middlebush, organized about thirty-three years ago, and which has given the ordinances to a generation. Faithfully have all who have there worshiped been instructed and warned, and well have the young there been trained in the doctrines of godliness and in the spirit and forms of devotion. Nobly has the church of Middlebush done according to her ability for the work of church extension by her regular and liberal contributions to the cause of missions. She is now re- pairing and beautifying her house of prayer. 3. Second New-Brunswick, organized early in 1843, and 158 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. consequently within a few months of the end of the first quar- ter-century of her life. Of the feeble beginnings of this church, of her early struggles, of the devotion and perseverance of her founders, I would love to speak if it were proper. Yet I can not allow the occasion to pass without bearing testimony to the purity of the motives of those who went forth from this churcli to form that new organization. They loved their old home none the less because of their attachment to the new. I would also love to indulge the feelings stirred up by memories and associations connected with the most interesting portion of my own early ministry. Surely I may to-day mention with gratitude that for eight and a half years I was permitted to labor in cordial cooperation with the faithful servant of God who so long ministered at these altars, and who, having fin- ished his public work, is now waiting for his crown. "We re- gret his bodily absence to-day. We thank God that he is present in spirit. We call to remembrance the former times, and we all rejoice together in the prosperity of that young and vigorous church. From her contracted tabernacle, dear to some of us as the place where the few were wont to meet, she has gone forth into her spacious and beautiful edifice, in wdiich we hope that many will, through many generations, be born into the kingdom. I wish that I could speak in behalf of a larger band of sis- ters. But it is not for me, and on a day like this, even to hint that there should have been a larger family. It is not for me to intimate that within the limits of the territory originally solely occupied by this church there is room for more of her order, or that Providence has clearly indicated a path of duty that has been shunned. On the contrary, I believe that there are laws that govern the multij)lication of churches in this land that carry themselves into efiect. AVe have no State authority to regulate this matter, no geographical division into parishes fixed by law. We usually do not even look to ecclesiastical bodies to take the initiative. Wherever and whenever Christian people feel that there is a time and place for a new church, they will move in the matter, asking only the countenance and authority of those who are over them in ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES, 159 the Lord, and tlie sympathy and prayers and Christian help of those from among wliom they go. I will go further, and utter an earnest protest against tlie heedless and nnreasonable censures that are often brouglit against our fathers for having been so slow to extend the de- nomination and organize new churches, and for suffering the ground to be occupied by others. Ignorance is the most charitable excuse for such censures. Let any one study the history of the struggles of our church lor more than one hun- dred and fifty years to maintain an existence in this country in the face of tremendous and overwhelming difficulties, and ho will admire the perseverance and rejoice in the success of the fathers. Extension ! Progress ! Formation of new chnrclies ! Why, the question was one of life, not of growth ; of holding fast, not branching out. Let any one but consider the speedy passing away of tlie Dutch authority from ISTew-Netherland and the clieck to immigration, the obstinate adherence to the Dutcli language, ecclesiastical dependence on the mother coun- try, difficulty of obtaining ministers, troubles of Coetus and Conferentie, and he will prate no more about the slow and deliberate movements of the fathers. And how can any one, in view of these hindrances, sa}'' that it is disgraceful that the Reformed Dutch Church is not now the leadino; church amono; nearly a million of people in the city of Is'^ew-York, because two hundred years ago she stood alone in New-Amsterdam a Dutcli village of 1500 inhabitants, one tenth the present size of our little city of New-Brunswick ? Besides, it is the glory of our land that no denomination has the right of preemption or preoccupancy to any part of tlie soil. We have religious liberty. A church long established may not forbid one of another order to spring up by its side. There is room, it is true, for Christian courtesy and charity, especially among those essentially alike, which should prevent an unnecessary multiplication of feeble churches. But how can it be otherwise than that in places of importance all the leading denominations should be represented, no matter which was first on the ground ? A church should look after the members of its own household ; but how can it expect to bring under its care those whose preferences are in other direc- 160 AISTNIVERSARY EXERCISES. tions? I for one say, let ns rejoice in tlie dwelling together of Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists, Reformed Dutch, and give thanks for the practical proof that tlierc can be unity of spirit and aim where there is diversity of form. If our own church be small among these divisions of the sac- ramental host, let us remember that an eloquent Metliodist brother, now in glory, has called us the heavy artillery, which part of an army is alwaj^s small in numbers in proportion to the weight of metal thrown by it into the ranks of the enem3^ But the time for progress and extension has come, and there is a wide field before us. Instead of blaming the fathers, let us ask ourselves wdiat are we doing. As the spokesman for new churches, I am here the representative of progress. Our doctrines and order should spread among the American peo- ple. We have a work to do for Christ. We must not sell our birthright. We must improve it. Growth is essential now to life. This church is sound in the faith on that point. Her sons are at work in heathen lands and in our western domain. Shall she not also look nearer home ? Shall she not ask. What could be a more fitting memorial of these one hundred and fifty years than a church rising in some portion of our city where needed, where the members of our own household, sent forth witli our blessing and lielp, may worship God according to the customs of the fathers ? During the exercises Prof. David Murray read the following poem, which he contributed to the occasion : "THE OLDEN TIME." 'Tis good for our pride To throw things aside — The business and pleasures to which we are tied, The burdens we carry, the hobbies we ride. The projects we form, and the plans we have tried — And linger an hour, or even a day. O'er the records of things which have passed away ; Bring out the old papers and family scraps, Overhaul the old boxes, and bureaus, and traps, And if you can bear it, Poke round in the garret, Bring down the old love-letters, in which long ago Our sainted old grandmothers conclusively show ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 161 That they used to make love in that earlier day Very much, after all, in the modern way. Then while you are at it, go empty the barrel Which holds some Dutch ancestor's best Sunday apparel ; And trig j^ourself out in his coat and his hat, And his best Sunda}'' waistcoat, be careful of that ; 'Tis not to be sneezed at, although, like enough. It maj^ still hold a scent of the old fellow's snufF. Be sure try his breeches Of a length that just reaches Adown to the knee, whence a stocking so neat Completes the remainder down to the feet. And then, if you choose. You may try on his shoes, And have them well polished before put in use, And rub up the buckles with the least bit of leather, For copper will tarnish in this sort of weather. Then he wore down behind a long, slender cue. Tied up in an eelskin with ribbon of blue. Which looked all the world, folks have profanely said, Like a frying-pan handle stuck on his head. Go look in the glass in this f;incy old rig. And if you are not a conceited j'oung prig, I am sure you will own that old Diedrich then Was not such a bad-looking specimen. Now when we've begun, Why, under the sun. Can't we go a bit further, and just make a run On our grandmother's bandbox and presses. And bring out from thence a few of her dresses^ By the by, she was noted a belle in her day. And quite turned the heads of the men, they say ; And even Lord Howe, the British commander. Is said to have sat by her side and fanned her. But good Dame Katrina quite stirred up his dander By marrying Diedrich, whom he thought a gander. Let one of these damsels I hold in my eye Be pleased just for once these dresses to try, And show us Kati-ina in Sunday attire All ready to walk to the church with our sire. This lilac brocade. With bright silver braid. Ah ! this will become you now to a shade, A little bit faded, but what of that ? A little too full, for Dutch dames were fat; 11 162 ANKIVERSARY EXERCISES. But a very good dress, notwithstanding that, And fit to adorn the queen who sat At Solomon's feet to hear him chat. You will see it is short, and meant for the street, And did not quite cover Dame Katrina's feet ; For who so cruel would try to hide Those bright silver buckles, Katrina's pride ? Now try on this bonnet, And depend upon it, You will cut a figure when you once don it. But first you must add a few inches more To the height your waterfall had before ; And one "heart-breaker" must hang down behind, To be played with and tossed by the wanton wind. Then put on the powder, and do not spare, For Katrina was proud of her golden hair. Now on with this " coal-scuttle," large and wide. With good broad ribbons securely tied. Why, bless your heart, there's enough of that. If only the stuff were spread out flat. To make a good dozen, as large as the mat Which ladies now wear, and call a hat. Good Diedrich, he was grave and stout, And his wife was nowise thin ; And a dimpled smile kept playing about The good little woman's chin. And on Sunday morn, when the church-bell rang. They always started when they heard its clang; And walked to church like a godly pair, While bright little Volkert, their son and heir, Went trotting before, and always were there A good many minutes before the first prayer. Good Diedrich took, in the winter weather, A foot-stove of tin, well-soldered together, And filled with water at a boiling heat. To protect from the cold their freezing feet. On very cold days, as a very great treat, It served little Volkert as a nice warm seat. Where the boy might be broiled like a piece of meat. For, remember, that no one ever hears Of a stove in a church back a hundred years, Still less of a furnace, or as it would seem, Of even a patent for heating by steam. The church was old, the church was queer ; Would you like to look in on the Sabbath-day, ANNIVEKSAEY EXERCISES. And witness their strange, old-fashioned gear. And gather a hint of the ancient way ? The walls were plain, the roof was square, The carpets — ah! well, they were not there ; And the pews — of course, they were better bare, Ifor cushions were deemed a carnal affair. In the centre aisle the bell-rope hung, Where the sexton stood, when he puffed and rung ; And the people said he was cross as a bear If any one jostled against him there. And the boys in the pews had a wholesome fear Of Johannes's anger, when he was near. At the pulpit-front the vorsinger stood — His nose was large and his voice was good — And he pitched his tune as he pitched his hay, To the right and left in a frantic way. And the old Dutch psalms made the welkin ring, For Dutchmen are strong when they come to sing. But the pride of the church, the glory of all. Was the pulpit which towered against the wall. 'Twas set so high, said the wits of the town. For the preaching was heavy, and would settle dov,-n. Like an egg-cup it stood on a narrow base, While the good old dominie held the place Of the spoon in the empty shell, To stir in the pepper and salt, and he stirred them well. Over his head a sounding-board hung. Like a vast extinguisher, above him swung. Ready to fall and put out his light. As candles are quenched at dead of night. Will somebody put a contrivance so neat Directly over each congressional seat, So that Colfax then by pulling a string Might the noisy men to silence bring ? Well to the front the deacons sat. All in a goodly row. Grave and sober, and generally fat, With linen as white as snow. Gravely they sat till the sermon was done. Then gravely they rose for their task, one by one ; And taking the bags from where they had been. Passed them to gather the pennies in. Each bag was hung to the end of a pole, And a little bell swung beneath the whole, Whose tinkling might serve the sleepers to wake From the nice little naps they sometimes take. 16i ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. There, look for .1 moment and admire the style Of him who is gathering the middle aisle. Hear the tinkling bell and his creaking shoes, As he passes along among the pews. Back in his garden, yesterdaj^ night, You might have seen him, while it was light, Practicing over his work for to-day, Rehearsing the part he would have to play. Armed with an oven-swab, there he goes. Passing it up and down the rows. Giving to each big cabbage-head there An equal chance to deposit his share. Do you wonder now at the exquisite style Of the deacon doing the middle aisle ? "We commend the example to others, too ; Have you a task that is hard to do '? Into the garden-plat haste to repair, And try it first on the cabbage-heads there. Time can strengthen, time can kill; Things will last, though men will die ; While the house is lasting still. Graves about it scattered lie. Generations here grow gray ; Others flourish in their stead; Pastors perish, people lay Here their kindred dead. But the church in faith holds on, Stronger with its growing age ; Proud to point to records gone, Eager yet to add a page. Let another fifty years go by ; What shall then its record be ? Call a meeting then and try. And may we be there to sec. Brief addresses were also delivered by Hev. B. C. Taylor D.D., Eev. David Cole, D.D., Eev.W. H.' Ten Ejck, and Eev! P. D. Oakey. On motion of Eev. Dr. Cole, it was resolved that the meet- ing deeply appreciate the excellent Historical Discourse deliv- ered by Eev. Dr. Steele this morning, and that the Consistory ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 165 of this cliurcli be reqiiested to secure the same for publica- tion. Prayer was offered by Rev. Peter D. Oakey, and after siug- ing the Doxology tlie benediction was pronounced by Pev. Dr. Taylor, of Bergen. EVENING EXERCISES. The evening exercises were opened with a voluntary by the choir, after which the forty-eighth Psalm was read, and prayer offered by Pev. Prof. Joseph F. Berg, D.D. The congregation then united in singing the following hymn, written for the occasion by Rev. John B. Steele : "THE THIRD JUBILEE." Tune— "iTa/'uey's Chant." 1. The silver trump of jubilee The pastors thrice have blown, Since first a royal priesthood laid Our Zion's corner-stone. 2. The pillar, on the rocky base Our fathers reared of old, Has wide displayed the truths of God — The purest, finest gold. 3. From year to year the altar's fires Have never ceased to shine ; And men of God have ever stood "Within our holy shrine. 4. The Saviour here has gathered gems — His jevvels rich and pure. To shine in His celestial crown, Forever to endure. 5. A cloud bj' daj', a fire by night, Our covenant God has given : Beneath the folds of light and shade We journey on to heaven. 6. On this good day, with grateful hearts, We set our symbol stone ; And look to God, in faith and hope, For help in years to come. 166 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. Rev. Isaac Ferris, D.D., the senior ex-pastor of tlic eliurcli, then deliv^ered the following address : ADDRESS OF EEV. ISAAC FERRIS, D.D. My Respected Tkiends : It is now about forty-six and one half years since a young man, twenty-two and one half years old and about ten months from the Seminary, assumed the pasto- ral charge of this church and congregation, then embracing three hundred families, and these dispersed over an area five miles square ; and having in his audience three professors, and some twenty-seven theological students, earnest young men with cultivated minds. It was a most responsible position for such an one to occupy, and it was in some degree realized, and would not have been assumed but from the conviction that the finger of God was clearly in the call, which came as unanimous from a people who had been distracted for years by a dividing question, in whose discussion very unhappy feelings had min- gled. The relation continued for three years and eight months, and was broken up by the renewal of the old dividing ques- tion. It may not be amiss to state it briefly, as it is a thing of the past. This congregation embraced a city and a coun- try population. In the settlement of a minister it had been the usage, from the founding of the church, to have the second service on the Sabbath, during the summer, occur after an in- termission of one hour. In the process of time the city popu- lation grew so large as to make it desirable and even important to have the service fixed at an hour convenient to the city congregation, and as were the services of other churches. Strong feeling and parties arose, each claiming what they sought as a right. The discussion had caused the resignation of Rev. Jesse Fonda. Dr. John Ludlow did not encounter it, as his pastoral relation continued only a little over a year. As I now look back on the merits of the case — indeed, as I then thought — the riglit was with the country people, but the policy was with the city, until the question was settled in the call of the pastor. In the call of my successor the matter was put forever at rest. The subsequent course of things has ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 1G7 proved tlie wisdom of this final action. The increase of pop- ulation to any important extent, as Avas expected would be, lias been in town. Tiie growing families here have been pre- served to the original fold. And now, on this ground, you have two large, vigorous churches, while an outgrowth at Mid- dlebush has constituted a blessed church-home to the more distant families. I rejoice in the prosperity and the expand- ing usefulness and power of my first charge. To come back to this spot has always been to me a pleasure, and to meet, as I have always done, the warm greeting and cordial good wishes of those to whom I had ministered, both the fathers and the children, in the greenness of my ministry, is among my most pleasant memories. The fathers have gone, and the children have mostly gone, and now I have before me the children's children, and to them I submit my remarks on what occurred in their fathers' fathers' day. A ministry of three years and eight months will ordinarily furnish few events of special moment, and their tale is soon told. But I feel I may take a wider range, that I may submit some statements concerning the honored dead, and thus pay my tribute to those whom I shall never again see in the flesli. My thoughts have taken this direction as I have anticipated this interesting occasion : that I would first notice some spe- cial points during my ministry, and then speak of my hearers and my co-laborers. As to the particular events referred to, let me speak first of the additions to the church. It pleased God to give me early seals to my ministry. His w^ord was made effectual, and I w^as permitted to hear from one and another the earnest inqui- ry, " What shall I do to be saved ? " Some of the most precious cases occurred in connection with pastoral visitations and spe- cial interviews with those who offered their children for bap- tism before they had given their own hearts to Christ. Among the early accessions was that of David Abeel, the devoted missionary. With his religious inquiries I had nothing to do ; he had obtained Christian hope in the winter of my settlement, and found Dr. Livingston his faithful and tender counselor. But we were brought closely together in his early Christian life, and it was my privilege to advise him concerning 168 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. his public consecration and to receive him to the fellowship of the family of Christ. Our walk together was very pleasant, and through his whole life we were dear friends and coopera- tors in Christ's work. Very pleasant was it, in the second and third summers of my settlement, as I had invited those who felt an interest in the matter to come together every Sabbath morning, at six o'clock, for prayer for one hour, in the old Lancaster school-house — vei'y pleasant was it to see David, with his excellent mother and sisters, coming over the hills from their rural home to the place of meeting ; and very animating and invigorating vv^ere those meetings, for the Master crowned them with his presence and blessing. They are bright sjiots in memory. We were not favored with what would be called revivals ; but we had times when the dews of divine grace distilled sweetly among the people. On several occasions we received sixteen to the communion on profession, and in the course of three years and a half seventy-eight, with thirty-two by cer- tificate, making one hundred and ten. After my ministry ter- minated, it overwhelmed me to hear from the precious man and devoted missionary, Frederick B. Thompson, that the word at my lips had been made the word of life to his soul. I regard it with interest that I was the first pastor who in- stituted a stated and regular weekly evening lecture in our city congregation. As there was no church lecture-room at the time, through the kindness of the proper authorities we en- joyed the use of the Lancaster School-house, which I think was one of the early buildings of Queen's College. The excel- lent system (which I have never ceased to admire) of having a v/eekly catechising and lectures in connection, in several dis- tinct neighborhoods in succession, throughout the congregation, was in use. One point was Poole's Landing ; another. Middle- bush ; a third. Three Mile Run ; a fourth was George's Eoad Poorhouse ; while the catechising in the city was weekly. These services in the country districts were attended by al- most every person, young and mature, and were regarded as hallowed seasons. Their observance had the effect for genera- tions of securing an amount of sound Bible knowledge which gave the highest character for Christian intelligence to the ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 169 people of Middlesex and Somerset counties ; for tliey constitu- ted the prevailing system of all our clmrches in this region, and they trained the most faithful church-going population I have ever seen. The work of the pastor became increased, but it was delightfid. By arrangement with the Consistory, one sermon on the Sabbath was given in the church the first ^-ear of settlement ; but the country and city lectures made three preaching ser- vices per week. The second year, there were four weekly ; while funeral sermons, and sermons at the houses of sick or in- firm or aged persons in the country, made them not unfre- quently five. One not actually in the work in a large charge can scarcely realize how the demands for service press a will- ing man. But it is well, for it is the Master's work ; and while a man is in health, what can he better do ? As for myself, I was a stranger to sickness or ailment of any kind at that period. Another circumstance of great interest at the time was the fact that, in compliance with my desire and the appeals made, the observance of the Lord's Supper four times in the year was introduced. The usage had been to celebrate that ordinance at intervals of six months. On this subject there has been in a lifetime a very general conformity in our churches in a quar- terly communion, while in a few cases a change has been made to six times in the year. When we consider primitive usage, we can not but v*'onder that there should have been so great a deviation from that ex- ample as a commemoration once or even twice in the year. The idea of frequency is distinct in the words of the institu- tion, and it should be such as to maintain at the same time the idea of the hallowed character of the service. But that to which I confess I look back with great satis- faction, as most important to myself in its various bearings, was the ground publicly taken on one of the most destruc- tive of social usages. In the fall of 1820 occurred the suspension from his minis- try, under the charge of intoxication, of one of our most dis- tinguished ministers by a northern Classis. He was reported the most accomplished pulpit orator in the northern part of 170 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. tlie State of ISTew-York — a fine scliolar, a gentleman of very wide influence. His fall grieved many hearts, while it broke np his pastoral relations, and covered his later life with a dark shadow from which he never emerged, though that which caused it had been corrected. It was apparent to me, as a looker on, that he had no more natural appetite for strong drink than any other man, but was the victim to the usages of social life — ruined by his friends, who became afterward his accusers. Every man of any position had his sideboard in his parlor, and that well stocked with the choicest of stimulants. Every visitor was expected to take his sip whenever he called. It was ungenteel — it was a slight, a reflection — not to drink a fflass. And in making a half-dozen calls in the course of two or three hours and taking as many drinks, how, as a matter of course, was an appetite formed. The wonder was, not that there were so many drunkards, but that every body was not such. To my mind, the usage was horrible ; and my determi- nation was, wherever I settled, on the first public exercise, to relieve myself forever from compliance with the tyrant custom. IN^ever can I forget the scene. This sanctuary was crowded in every part, as there was great curiosity to hear tlie first ser- mon of the young pastor elect. At the close, with the case which had occurred full in my mind, and which I stated, I solicited the people never, under any circumstances, to oiFer me strong drink, and not to consider me impolite or churlish if I peremptorily declined, should they forget themselves. I remember well how the smile passed at my expense over the face of the whole congregation. It was a bold step for so young a man ; but it was most important. It was shutting down the gate of access to a course which has been ruinous everywhere. It made its impression for good, as it fastened itself upon the minds of my people from its peculiarity and novelty. Keed I say that step was never regretted ? As was proposed, let me give some sketches of my hearers. It may be said, probably, that, as are a man's hearers, such is his ministry. He will be influenced by the descri23tion of per- sons who are to sit in judgment on his performances. The in- telligent, the cultivated, the discriminating will stimulate the young man to corresponding eff'orts. Every locality which ANNIVEESAEY EXERCISES. 171 has public institutions, in wliicli and around wliicli strong and educated men cluster, will have its terrors to the beginner in public services, while it will furnish strong encouragement to fidelity and earnestness, for it is in the best degree apprecia- tive. It was my privilege to have as my constant hearers a noble band of twenty-five or thirty young men of the Theological Seminary, quite a proj^ortion of whom was near my own age, whose feelings and warm interest were with me. Ours were most pleasant relations, as I was so recently one of them. How many have gone to tlie grave, having done a good work for the Master ! A small proportion remain, and they have become the fathers in our Israel. Thus we pass along, class after class, to various fields, encountering the wear and tear of life, but never losing the tenderness of that tie which bound us to£!;ether in the Theological Hall and in our Christian asso- ciations. I said noble young men. Let me not leave an im- pression that I look upon them as an exception par excellence — by no means. My relations to the Seminary have been such as to bring me often, in the intervening years, in contact with the young brethren gathering here for training for the minis- try, and my opportunity of seeing other young men has not been limited ; and I say unhesitatingly, notwithstanding in- sinuations in some quarters, that I have never seen a higher class of mind and character than gathers here in preparation for ministerial work. At the head of the school of the prophets was the venera- ble and venerated Dr. Livingston. His seat was always here, at the head of the elders' pew, and he was ever the object of interest on which the stranger would fix his admiring gaze. He presented the most perfect specimen of .an old gentleman of the continental school of a hundred years ago ; rather tall, fully developed in physical system, calm, dignified in air, yet affable, bland, with his flowing white wig dropping down to his coat-collar, he was a man by himself His were inex- haustible stores of knowledge, showing that he had been an intense student, comprehending in his course the vast fields of science and literature as well as theology, and having all at command. To him was always yielded the sermon of the sac- 172 ANNIVEESAEY EXEECISES. ramental Sabbath morning; and then it was he ponred forth the rielies of his evangelical resources and his sweet Christian experience — toiicliing, warming, thrilling ever j heart — making the occasion a festival indeed. His mode of sermonizing was eminently didactic and analytical, turning every thing in his text to account. His grand peculiarity in the pulpit was the large illustration of his subjects by voice and action. In this he has had no successor; some have attempted its imitation, but, as usual in such cases, they have been miserable failures. To him belongs the credit of giving a permanent form to the the- ological training of the Seminary, and it must be pronounced sound. Biblical, evangelical. Its results, as seen in our minis- try, are all Ave could ask. It was my frequent privilege to accompany the doctor in his walks, and it was always delight- ful to notice the respect paid him by all classes and ages, and especially to see the satisfaction of the little ones where we called, as he laid his hand on their heads and pronounced his blessing on them. ISTever shall I forget my first sight ol him, in Albany street. It was in the spring of 1819, I was then contemplating joining the Seminary for ]ny closing year, and was here to witness the final examination. He was passing down Albany street, and reached Mr. Blauvelt's house, (now iS^o. 52,) on the stoop of which some half-dozen students sat, who lifted their hats to him. With peculiar dignity, he turned his person squarely toward them, and with both hands took ofi' his broad-brimmed hat and bowed his whole person. To my mind, he stood as the personification of one of the patri- archs. One of my most cherished memories is that I enjoyed, when I left this charge, his warm love and confidence, and received from him, in his own beautiful penmanship, the expression of them. It was the last time I saw him, as soon after he slept in Jesus. My closing year in the Seminary was the first year of the professorship of Dr. John Ludlow, who was, in his twenty- fifth year — in June, 1819 — elected to his office, and for two years was a hearer. The choice of so young a professor was deemed a remarkable, while it was proved, by the result, a most wise] proceeding. The new professor was not to be ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 173 judged by tlie years lie liad seen, but by bis mental develop- ment and strength of character, and these gave him a very marked preeminence. His was a rare case of maturity of mind at that age ; and, while he possessed an iron constitution, with his experience in teaching as a tutor in Union College he was especially fitted for his work. And a hard work it was. It seemed a giant's burden, and manfully he bore it. He had every thing to prepare, as text-books in several of his departments were few. He instituted the system of her- meneutical and exegetical studies in the Seminary, and gave a character to that branch of preparation altogether new to our students. He was charged with teaching Hebrew, Greek, Church History, Church Government, Pastoral Theology, and Biblical Analysis. Day and night he was engaged, the light in his study being the last extinguished in his neighborhood. He preached occasionally, and then it was with the power of a master. His manner Avas modeled somewhat after that of his preceptor. Dr. Nott, President of Union College ; but the clarion voice, and the piercing eye, and. the energetic gesture were his own. He was not emotional, and accordingly his preferred field of topics was that involving power and perhaps terror. He was not rhetorical, in the sense of the florid and metaphorical, but very plain in style; his words just what ex- pressed his thoughts — no more, no less — the right word used, and always in the right place. His aim evidently was, first, to get in his own mind a definite, clear conception of a sub- ject, and then to present it in the most direct and effective manner. He emerged from the Seminary an orator of the first degree, and as long as he preached ex tempore^ that is, without notes, was everywhere acknowledged sucli. The dis- tinguislied Chancellor Kent, then in his own prime, when he heard Dr. Ludlow in the pulpit, at Albany, in 1822, preach on 1 Cor. 1 : 22-21, pronounced it the most commanding pul- pit efibrt he had ever heard. The sermon, as an intellectual production and an exhibition and defense of the Gospel, was a masterpiece. Dr. Ludlow was a wise and sound-minded man, possessing a most marked balance of mind. No man saw better what belonged to a given occasion or could better unravel what was 174 ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. conflicting. In social life lie manifested the warmest atfections and the most unyielding fidelity in his friendships. His were capabilities for the most responsible trusts. Had he been a military man, he would have been one of the great captains of the age ; had he devoted himself to law, he would have taken rank with the most distinguished jurists; and had he given himself to political science, he would have won renown as the first of statesmen. What a thought it is that this man, so fitted by nature and attainments, was forced to retire from the posi- tion he so admirably filled here by tlie want of funds requisite for the support of a second professor ; but his going waked up the church to her duty. In the w^ork of the ministry, in the church of Albany, he won a great reputation ; in the University position he occupied, at Philadelphia, he made his mark on every class with which he had to do, and his memory is che- rished most tenderly. He was truly one of the leading minds of our church. A few months only elapsed when, having been chosen to sup- ply Dr. Ludlow's place, the Rev. John DeWitt, D.D., of Alba- ny, came among us, truly a man of genius and finely cultivated taste as well as capital scholarly attainments. His had not been the advantages of early theological culture, as those now enjoyed, but he had made up for all by most assiduous study of the best authors and critics of the day. He had, in Albany, in the Second Church, occupied a most influential position, and called around him a large and very devoted people. There I was his hearer for a large portion of a year, and there, as a temporary dweller, I learned to love the doctrines and usages of the Dutch Church ; for, though brought up with Dutch boys as my daily playmates and schoolmates, in ISTew-York, and hearing the tongue almost every hour spoken, and learning to speak it in a degree, I had never crossed the threshold of a Dutch Church, as "I was not Dutch." Dr. DeWitt soon made himself felt in the Seminary and in the town. He was a most animated man, and infused animation and energy into what- ever he undertook. He did nothing (as we say) by halves, and would have every man like himself. He seemed to catch intuitively what others would mine out by hard labor. As a preacher he was pohshed in his whole style and manner, and ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. 175 eloquent and pathetic. While he developed a subject in a way to satisfy the intellect, he knew how to bring it home to the heart. One of the best defenses I have ever heard of the Sa- viour's divinity he gave in this pulpit, from the first five verses of John's Gos2:)eL So, too, one of his most moving, practical ser- mons was from Ilosea, " Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord." It has always been to me a matter of wonder that a volume of his sermons was never printed. There was one form of service he performed, in addition to all his other duties, which was highly valued ; he gave special attention to the elocutionary culture of students, after the rules of Walker, on which his own delivery was formed. On the decease of Dr. Livingston, that the Seniors might lose as little as possible from that event, he carried on their course in Didac- tic Theology, and thus in effect, for sev^eral months, he had the whole weight of Seminary instruction resting on him. He was very fond of nature. To him, principally, are we indebted for the fine shade-trees of the Campus, as well as for the fine floral display which was yearly seen and admired at his door. He, too, was the means of the donation of what was known as the Mrs. Chinn's Library, and which he selected. One personal incident, to me of great moment, I may men- tion, if for no other reason than to show how judicious Chris- tian friends may benefit a young preacher. We were on inti- mate terms. One day he said to me, "Have you any idea how you preach?" I told him I had not, and often wished to hear some one preach as I did, that I might see and hear my own manner, and correct it. He asked if he should show me. I solicited him by all means, for I knew that he had a remarkable power of imitation. He gave it to me, and it was the most valuable lesson of my early ministry ; it altered my whole manner of preaching from that day. But I must fill up my picture with notice of another most worthy and most unassuming clerical hearer, and that is E.ev. John S. Mabon, who received his Professoral certificate at the same time with Dr. Thomas De Witt. If true greatness is modest and retiring, then Mr. Mabon is entitled to the honor, for he was such. Xo one could have intercourse witli him without being struck with the evidences of his profound and 17C . ANNIVERSARY EXERCISES. varied cultivation. He was indefatigable in study, and was most liappj among the literary treasures (gathered by himself in Europe) which filled his shelves. He never assumed the pastoral office, though, when in health, he not unfrequently supplied pulpits, and had performed missionary work in JSTorth- ern New- York and in Canada. He was an honored educator, and had the satisfaction of preparing not a few young men for college classes. In the Grammar School of Rutgers College he labored continuously for nine years. On the decease of the excellent and amiable Dr. John Schureman, the General Synod gave him charge of instrtiction in Hebrew, in the Seminary, until a professor should be chosen. His students remembered his faithful efforts gratefully. He was the warm friend as well as the devoted instructor of young men, sympathizing in their trials and ever ready to help with counsel and other aid. It was unfortunate that Mr. Mabon confined himself to his laborious avocations so closely that his health was thereby seri- ously impaired. He was brought into close relations with Dr. Yan Yranken, as he married the doctor's sister, a Christian lady, whom I may well remember, as she was the warm and sympathizing friend of my family. Mr. Mabon was a model hearer, being always closely attentive, and entering into all the trying circumstances of a beginner in pulpit duties. As a the- ologian, no man exceeded him in soundness of views and intel- ligent apprehension of truth. Bred first under most thorough Scotch training, he completed his course with Dr. Livingston. In his latter days his trials were various and severe, but borne with a Christian spirit. Though personally gone to his rest, he lives in a son, whose privilege it is to occupy a high position among our ministry. It belongs to my narrative to say that the distinguished George Wood, who reached the pinnacle of fame as a lawyer, was a constant attendant in the morning of the Sabbath. His close attention was calculated to induce care in every effort on the part of a young preacher. James Schureman Nevius, the most cheerful and vivacious of young men, always ready for a joke and never behind in a repartee, and, at the time, a keen, discriminating young lawyer, was my fellow-boarder at his uncle's, and my hearer. With sharp eye and keen ear he al- ANNIVERSAEY EXERCISES. 177 ways heard tlie young fledgeling in the pulpit. And then regu- larly came Dr. Ackerman, whose interested countenance has often come up before me, and whose son has become the bene- factor of our missionary brethren. Shall I not speak of my helpers ? They deserve a special place. We have the advantage, through our ecclesiastical sys- tem, of surrounding a minister with the best material of which a church is composed. If a man is unfitted, or fails in accom- plishing a fair work, he may be easily passed by and another introduced to his place. It was my privilege to have some most capital men in the eldership as well as active men in the deaconship ; not all of the same characteristics, but rarely a de- licient man — plain for the most part, sincere, possessed of good sense and piety. Mr. James Sclmreman was a noble specimen of a man, highly intelligent, judicious, and possessed of general influence, and of large and liberal views. He had seen much of public life in honorable positions, and was qualified for the leading place which others assigned him. Frederick Van Liew, of Middlebush, was a farmer, and had enjoyed few advantages; but he was far beyond tlie ordinary run of men ; more than almost any other man he had the confidence of the country part of the congregation, and was their most able advocate. It was my privilege to enjoy always his regard and confidence. Peter Yoorhics, of Middlebush, was an aged man in my day ; he had long been a pillar in the church. But I can not dwell on the Wyckoifs, Henry Van Arsdale, David Fine, Philip Oakie, Henry Schenck, Lewis Carman, the Outcalts, Judge Nicholas Booraem, George Nevius, and others; the last two still surviving. Another I can never forget. Though not a member of the church, Peter Spader was a most valuable man ; his favors were constant. Though separated, by removal, to another charge, I always received a cordial welcome when we met. Paul charged his true yoke-fellow, Euodias, to help " those women which labored with him in the Gospel : " and what pas- tor has not reason to cherish a high regard for this class of his helpers ? Their place is a most important one. When are they not first in good deeds ? When are they not the ever ready cooperators in the plans of usefulness a pastor may commend ? 12 178 ANNIVERSAEY EXERCISES. When are tliey not tlie most persevering ? Here tliey were to me most valuable. Tliey constituted a valuable band. But there are four whom I have had special reason to remember most kindlj : Sarah Yan Doren was never weary in well-doing, never could do too much, the Sabbath-school was on her heart; Miss II. Yethake, cultivated, highly educated, retiring, and nev- er self-reliant, regarded no study or labor too much for the cause of piety ; the two sisters, Pha3be and Elizabeth Bennett, became members during my ministry, and were most efficient workers and supports. Only within a few years has the last of the four been called home, leaving her blessing behind her in the form of benevolent gifts. May I say a word about co-laborers, whose work lay around me in this church-field ? The ministerial brethren of the Clas- sis were most valuable men. John S.Yredenbergh, of Somer- ville, was a man of strong, marked merit. His whole heart was in his work, and it was a large work ; and in this he had a helper in a wife, who was a second Isabella Graham in the variety and importance of her benevolent works. Few families were more esteemed than theirs, and few are there where un- usual culture and intelligent, earnest piety were so strikingly the characteristics, and few have made such personal consecra- tions to the cause of Christ. Mr. Yredenbergh went into the ministry from this church. I found his aged father in its fellowship when I settled. The pastor of Somerville was always heard with attention in the councils of the church, for he was a most judicious and wise man. God blessed his work abundantly, and it is remarkable how great its results were after his decease. Not long after that event, a most extensive and powerful revival occurred, and some three hundred and fifty were gathered into the fold. It was the first revival in which I had labored, and it was de- lightful to hear constantly of some good word or earnest ser- mon of the deceased pastor as the instrument of awakening. One of the most Nathanael-like men was John L. Zabries- kie, pastor of Millstone, and he was my nearest clerical neigh- bor. He was an honored instrument in building up what I used to regard as one of the most desirable rural chargesinthe denomination. He was eminently a man of peace, and of ANNIVEESARY EXERCISES. 179 great simplicity of character. "Without any pretensions to greatness, his ministry was truly evangelical, and he saw tlie children and the children's children come into the church. His house Avas the much-loved place of ministerial meeting. My valued friend and classmate, both in college and in the Seminary, Isaac M. Fisher, in a few months after my settle- ment here became pastor of the Bedminster church. A capi- tal theologian he was, and a most able defender of the doc- trines of our church. No man among us in the Seminary was so ftxmiliar with the system of Dr. Livingston, and could more intelligently explain and illustrate it. His critical acumen iiad been sharpened by the great Hopkinsian controversy which had pervaded the New- York churches a few years be- fore ; and with all its points, both theological and metaphysi- cal, he had made himself at home. A most honest and up- right man in his principles, he enjoyed the confidence of all who knew him, and the remarkably upright pliysical man seemed the index of the spirit within. Rev. Jacob J. Schultz was located at the White House, and was one of the most earnest of preacliers. He labored as one who had the best interests of his people at heart, and was blessed with large ingatherings to the fellowship of the churches to which he ministered. Every good enterprise found in him a hearty cooperator. And there was Samuel A. Yan Yranken, generous, warm- hearted, and ever enlivening by his sparkling remarks. It was said he had settled in Monmouth with solicitude for his health, as he had expectorated blood near the close of his student life. But certainly, on that score, the settlement proved most Avise, for he became one of the most vigorous of men. The boson-j friend of Dr. Ludlow, he exceeded him in the animation of his stjde and in the emotional character of his preaching. In the midst of his people, he was in his glory. In view of liis health, he did not in his early ministry give himself to books and to sermon-writing. His study, it was said, was the lawn in front of his house ; and there, pacing to and fro, he wrought out, without pen or paper, his Sabbath preparations, and among his most intelligent hearers obtained the reputation of a most powerful preacher. It was with difficulty he was in- 180 ANNIVERSAEY EXERCISES. duced to leave a place where he was so happy. Providence brought him to the professorial office here after two pastoral changes, and now his remains lie in the westernmost portion of your graveyard. But the man who out-topped all others was James S. Can- non — noble in form, dignified in manner, careful in speech, wise in counsel, the friend of all, especially of the young min- ister, and distinguished for his literary and theological attain- ments. The doctor was brought into close relations with tlie Theo- logical Seminary by performing the service of Professor of Ecclesiastical History during the session of 1818 and 1819, (as was the case with Mr. Mabon ;) and his interest in the stu- dents, which was always warm, became very earnest, and made him their counselor and friend. He seemed like a venerated parent at Six Mile Pun, to whom the students loved to repair for converse and advice. He was truly a Christian philoso- pher, looking out thoughtfully and calmly on the outside world, with its wave-like changes. His preaching was far from the sensational, which rings changes on a few exciting topics. Its range was over the vast field of Bible truth, rest- ing with delight on the Gospel and the sweet experience of its working in the Christian life. He subsequently came into dis- tinct professorial relations with the Seminary, retiring from the pastoral office. And you know well how truly gentlemanly liis whole bearing, how uniformly kind, how sympathizing, how exemplary his Christian walk, how elevated and how thorough his instruction, and how completely he secured the confidence and regard of all his pupils, either of the College or the Seminary. He was truly a great man, in the best and most desirable sense of the term. My friends, I thank you for so kindly allowing me to carry you in a familiar strain through reminiscences to me so plea- sant, and, I trust, not uninteresting to you, many of whom are the descendants or the connections of those of whom I have spoken, or to whom I have referred. They are gone; but not without leaving a most solemn work for their successors. The old flock is divided into three folds, each having much to call out our gratitude. I rejoice with you in your enlargement, ANNIVERSAEY EXERCISES. 181 and in tlie promise for tlie future involved in it. To realize all, and still to advance to a higher development of Christian character, requires the earnest effort of all, and what encour- agement have you to make it ! The God of the fathers is your God. What a glorious starting-point does this day, with its charming services, furnish, and how worthily may this be made the mark of those who are in the vigor of life and of those rising to maturity ! To myself, this has been a most grateful day, and especially as it has followed another of most pleasant character. A week since, I preached to the people among whose fathers my pro- fession of the Saviour's name was made, aud my first conmiu- nion was celebrated just fifty years ago this month, and be- fore whom my first sermon was preached ; and now I have been in solemn service with the children, and the children's chil- dren, in the sanctuary where my ministerial life began. I ought to be thankful. I trust I am thankful, and I can well leave the future to my divine Master, to whom I would give all the glory. On the conclusion of the address, the congregation united in singing PSALM XC. PART II. Tune — Windsor. Our God, our help ia ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home ! Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same. Time, like an ever-rolling stream. Bears all its sons away ; They flj^, forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day. Our God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be Thou our guard while troubles last, And our eternal home. 182 ANKIVERSARY EXERCISES. The evening service was concluded witli prayer and the benediction by Eev. Dr. Ferris, and the great congregation separated. Thns, throngli tliree services, occupjdng nearly the entire day, the interest of these anniversary exercises was main- tained. The expression was general that +he occasion was of a most delightful and refreshing character, and had left im- pressions which would make it forever memorable to all who had been permitted to participate in these solemnities. We had " remembered the days of old," according to the divine direction. The history of God's dealings with the Church during a period of one hundred and fifty years, and of His grace to "the fathers," had been contemplated for our encou- ragement and strength. Hallowed and tender recollections had been awakened while worshiping in the venerable sanc- tuary which, for more than fifty years, had invited successive generations within its courts. Blessed seasons had been wit- nessed here by God's waiting people, on returning Sabbaths, as His Spirit was poured out in answer to prayer. From this communion of saints on earth multitudes have gone, rejoicing in hope, to join the Church of the first-born whose names are written in heaven. Under such auspicious circumstances has the First Keformed Dutch Church of ]^ew-Brunswick celebrated her One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary ANNIVEESARY LESSONS. A SERMON PREACHED OCTOBER G, 1867, BY KEY. RICHARD H. STEELE, D.D. "The Lord our God be vAilh us, as he was witli our fathers.'' — 1 Kings 8 :57. We liave been permitted, in the providence of God, to cele- brate tlie one liiindred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of our church — an anniversary that has awakened attention "wherever the children of this congregation are scattered, and which will form an interesting topic of conversation as long as tlie present generation are upon the stage of life. It seems that, as a fitting conclusion to the exercises of this occasion, your pastor should endeavor to gatlier together its lessons, and repeat, on behalf of you all, the prayer of Solomon at the ded- ication of the temple, which was so appropriately selected as the motto of the whole services, "The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers." Rest assured, my friends, that the interest of this occasion is not transient or circumscribed. It has left impressions upon our hearts which will abide with us always; and, as the facile pen of the reporter shall spread round a circle of unusual width the story of our religious festival, it will form the topic of thought and prayer in many distant families. God has been with us in this series of meetings. If ever Heaven has smiled propitiously upon Christian gatherings, ours is the occasion. The day has been a joyful one in New-Brunswick; and we, who worship at the old altar and dwell at the old homestead, have not misinterpreted the indications of Providence ingather- ing together the children of the fathers and their descendants 184 ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. to this feast of memory. The broad invitation that we cir- culated; the recollections that liave been awakened; the won- derful history that has been recited of these pioneers of the covenant, who so many generations ago laid the foundation of our institutions of religion, and learning, and government; the rich tone of spiritual feeling that pervaded onr assemblies; and the new purposes formed in respect to the interest we shall hereafter take in the cause of Christ, all testify to the hold this anniversary has taken upon our minds and hearts. I re- peat it : The story of our coming together on this high festi- val occasion will be rehearsed around many a fireside and to future generations. An interest which is not transient or local now surrounds the spot where it pleased God to plant, one hun- dred and fifty years ago, this goodly vine. Those who know us and have worshiped with us, as well as strangers who have never stood within these gates, will fix on us their minds as they speak of our remarkable history. In making the improvement of the occasion which the whole subject suggests, I will not follow any formal analysis of the theme, but will lead you with me along a path of fami- liar reminiscence and encouragement, entreating the blessing, " The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers." Our fathers^ and God loith them. After the record which has been reengraved upon their monuments, can we doubt the reality ? I think of these men once more, as we have read their names and refreshed our memories with their virtues. When we reflect upon the hardships experienced by the first settlers in this new land, the privations, the labor, the dangers incident to this then unbroken wilderness, can there be room to doubt the special providence of God in selecting the agents who should found, and in leading them to the place where they should erect, this temple of worship and praise, the first religious organization in our goodly city ? Was it the merest accident that they were led to pitch their habitations in this fertile land, coursed by this noble river, surrounded by these broad fields of inviting husbandry, in this genial climate, mid- >vay between the stern winters which crown with frost and ice the northern latitude and the enervatiiig heat and sickness incident to a southern clime? Let those believe who may that ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. 185 such a movement as this is only Inmian in its conception and results ; that the order of events that peopled this section of our State with that sturdy Batavian race, whose excellences we have commemorated, was a mere random adventure of men who knew not where they were going;, or what was the end of their mission ; we, who have faith in Providence, not blind but wise, not a coercive necessity but an intelligent pur- pose, will believe that the Lord Jehovah was with our fathers. When I think of those praying men who crowded around that noble minister, Rev. Theodorus J. Frelinghuysen, who broke ground for the Gospel in this new territory, the compan- ion and colaborer with Gilbert Tennent, George Whitefield, and President Edwards — whose grave, like that of Moses, no man knows unto this day; when I think how the good minis- ter, Mr. Leydt, passed almost from his pulpit to the grave amid the lamentations of the people; when I think how^ all the expectations of this church were disappointed as thej'' bowed in submission to the will of Providence in the early removal of Dr. Ilardenbergh, while they received the consola- tion administered to them in the funeral sermon preached at his burial by Dominie Yan Harlingen, from the text, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof;" when I think how hearts were almost broken at the great be- reavement experienced in the death of Dr. Condict; when I recall the names of all these ministers and their successors, and behold the foundations they have laid, the seed they have sown, and the harvests thej^ have gathered, I am ready to re- peat, what has come out all along in our narrative, "This is the Lord's doing ; it is marvelous in our eyes." How different is our position to-day from that of those who first came to this field with the Gospel of salvation ! It has been impossible for me, during the preparation of my Histori- cal Discourse — and I confess that it has given me • two years of labor and thought, in the midst of other duties, feeling my way through a wilderness which had never been traveled, and gathering materials for the first one hundred years from letters, scraps of newspapers, old wills and deeds, Bible records, and inscriptions on the old brown tombstones — it has been im- possible, in the midst of it all, to keep from my mind that old 186 ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. building, with its shingled sides, and steep roof, and iinpainted interior, and uncarpeted aisles, in Burnet street, where your forefathers worshiped God in the olden time, and contrast it with the quiet Sabbaths which have shed around us their hal- lowed influence in this ample tabernacle and these crowded congregations. "VVe can not but view with emotion the obscure origin of some vast river, and trace it in its expanding flow onward in its course until it mingles its waters with the great reservoir of ocean. Then it is the little rivulet tinkling through the valley ; now it is the broad river on whose bosom the com- merce of a nation floats. So, with emotions of wonder and thanksgiving to God, we trace the origin of those streams of moral and spiritual influence which have blessed our world, and are still accumulating strength and vigor with the lapse of years, and whose ultimate power for good it is almost impossi- ble for us to conceive. Truly, that little band, who first planted here the Gospel of our precious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, might well be spoken of, in the beautiful figure of the Psalm- ist, as "an handful of corn on the top of the mountain." And even now the prediction has been fulfilled, for the fruit thereof has shaken like Lebanon. "They little thought how pure a light, With years, would gather round that day ; How love would keep their memories bright ; How wide a realm their sons would sway !" A review of the history of our church, when it shall be spread out before you, will exhibit the fact that the early founders of our religious institutions were men who loverl the v:ord of God, and who made their appeal to it as the only in- fallible 7'ule of faith and pi'actice. There are still in existence a few venerable copies of the Bible, in the native language of the Hollanders, preserved as heir-looms in the families of their descendants. These well- read pages attest how intelligently and tenaciously they ad- hered unto God's testimonies. If they sought for comfort, they found it in the Holy Scriptures ; if they needed inspira- tion, they caught it from the Old and the New Testament ; if they desired strength, they sought it in these lively ora- ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. 187 (ties ; if tliey panted after holiness, tliey communed with the Holy Ghost in the volume which was written by Him. They had few boohs to adorn their dwellings ; and in most instances a large family Bible, with its antique binding and strange plates and clasps of ponderous brass ; a psalm-book ; and a volume of sermons prepared by some famous divine of the ISTetherlands — a Brakel, a Yan Derkemp, a Hellenbrook, a Marck — constituted the entire religious educational apparatus of the household. But this word of God they loved. Some of you remember how these pious men and women of the past genei'ation pored over these sacred pages. Amid all privations, they were sustained by the principles and pro- mises treasured, as they believed, for God's people in the Book of the Lord. Its biographies of the patriarchs, its historical narratives, its predictions of the Messiah, its precious psalms, its proverbs and parables, its Gospels of the Saviour, its apoca- lyptic vision of heaven, were familiar lessons from infancy to old age. They read the Bible daily, and large portions of it were committed to memory. They taught their children to read it and reverence its inspired teachings. And some of those godly men became expounders of the word of God, and their names have been handed down to us as " helpers " in the Gospel of our Lord. My friends, in the reverence in which they held, and the attachment which they cherished for, the Bible, the Dutch fathers are examples to us. It is emphatically the hooh for the family and therace. To it we must come at last for all that higher knowledge which relates to our origin and our destiny, the true aim of life and the real dignity of rational and intelli- gent beings. Let the pleasing custom be perpetuated of pre- serving the genealogical record of the household in the family Bible, written between the Old and Kew Testaments, to be consulted by those who come after us, telling the story of births, and baptisms, and marriages, and burials, from genera- tion to generation. Familiarize your own minds with its blessed language, teach your children its lessons of heavenly truth ; and as did the fathers, so do you take this best of all books as the guide, the instructor, the light, and life, and law of the house. " There," said one of the pastors of this church, 188 ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. when lie was clyiiip;, " there is the word of God, which has an abundance of knowledge and grace. The Lord has given you reason, and a capacity for knowing and loving him ; let that word be your teacher, and you will experience riches of grace." Again, the fathers of this chui'ch were men of intelligent and earnest piety. I speak now of their religious character, as moulded and developed under the instructions of the early min- isters of this church. After the great conflict through which Dominie Frelinghuysen passed with the formal element which prevailed throughout this whole region, he gathered into the communion a body of men who w^ere spiritual, praying, and devoted to the cause of Christ. They were sound in their views of the truth ; in their system of religious belief, they adopted the catechisms and confessions of faith of the Re- formed Church ; in their method of instruction in the house- hold, they followed the direction of the Scriptures, and taught their children out of the word of God, and trained them sys- tematically in the doctrines and standards in which they them- selves had been educated in the fatherland. They were the children of the covenant. They had faith in God, and made sacrifices to promote his honor. They looked beyond tlieii* own immediate wants, and labored directly for the welfare of those who were to come after them. They saw the hand of God before them leading the way, and they followed his direc- tions. The whole history of this church is replete with the evidence that ministers and people sought the immediate guid- ance of God. We might speak of the deficiencies in their character, and it would be no difficult matter to discover points in which they failed ; but we will leave this ungracious task for those whose taste prefers to look at their infirmities and infelicities rather than upon those traits which bear the evi- dence of a sterling character. We prefer to think of these men as trained under the ministry of that fearless herald of the Gospel who always felt that he was sent to this field by a most direct interposition of Providence, and who would adhere to his purpose of preaching the doctrines of grace though there rose up the clamor of great opposition against the truth. We would think of them as pitching their habitations in this then unbroken wilderness, opening for themselves a path ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. 189 tliroTigli tlie forest ; worslii'ping God in the first sanctuary erected in the interior of our State by the church of our order; having in their house tlie ordinance of family worship, that fii'st care of the Christian parent ; planting the seminary of learning by the side of the Christian sanctuary; and we will find in all these things much that we can admire in our Kcw- Brunswick ancestors. And the piety of these men was sincere, a serious joy in God lighting up their countenances, and inspiring within them, amid all their hardships, the blessedness of hope. Rev. Gil- bert Tennent, who was on terms of special intimacy with his co-laborer in this city, Eev. Mr. Frelinghuysen, has left the record that his ministry was eminently blessed here, and that those who were in membership with the church " appeared to be converted persons, by their soundness of principles. Chris- tian experience, and pious example." He describes, in one of his letters, the work of grace which was here enjoyed, and he says, " I may further observe that frequently, at sacramen- tal seasons in New-Brunswick, there have been signal dis- plays of the divine power and presence. Divers have been convinced of sin by the sermons there preached, some con- verted, and many affected by the love of God in Jesus Christ. Oh ! the sweet meltings that I have seen on such occasions among many. New-Brunswick did then look like a field that the Lord had blessed. It was like a little Jerusalem, to which the scattered tribes with eager haste repaired on sacramental solemnities, and there they fed on the fatness of God's house, and drank of the rivers of his pleasure." There are many other inviting pages in the history of the fathers, every one I'ich in instructive lessons. We could speak of their patriotism, and show you that these men loved their country and hated opipresdon. The teachings of history in the land from whence they came, while it exhibited the doctrine of toleration in all civil and ecclesiastical matters, at the same time furnished precedents which have been wrought out in the struggles through which our own nation has passed. The United Provinces of the Netherlands had a Declaration of In- dependence long before that more renowned instrument which bound into one nation the United States of America. They 190 ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. had a constitutional government in opposition to hereditary power. They had a motto — " Unity makes might" — which is hardly inferior to that of oar own country, which is intended to express the union of these States. It is not surprising that such men gave themselves to the cause of their country, and suffered for this heritage which they have transmitted unto us. We could speak of the intellectual character of the fathers ; and, while not claiming for them any considerable degree of culture and learning, yet it might be shown' that, for the times and poverty of advantages which they enjoyed, they were not devoid of intelligence, and had an eye to the prospective wants of the clmrch. Coming from that Dutch republic which had its system of free schools, which so caught the attention of the Puritans in their exile, as they saw it in successful operation, that they made it their model on the settlement of Kew-Eng- land, it is not surprising that the first minister brought with him to this field of labor the " well-educated schoolmaster," Jacobus Schureman, a "gentleman who was respectable for his literary acquirements as well as for his piety," and planted the school-house by the side of the church. First of all, they made provision for the permanent establishment of religious institutions, and then, at great sacrifice, they furnished facili- ties for the highest forms of education, establishing the fifth College in the North- American colonies, and plantino- the first Theological Seminary in our land. These points, with others, are inviting. But the evidence is sufScient that the Lord Je- hovah w^as with the fathers. He sent them to this field, and bestowed on them His blessing. And we have that in their record which is to us a ground of thanksgiving. It seems to us, as we study the history of the church, that it is a special providence of God in giving to our American Zion, in the various branches of her organization, a fatherland, from which they have received the peculiar type of their theology and order. The Scotch Presbyterians hail from the hills and valleys of that land of martyrs, which is redolent with the piety of those suffering heroes who so long resisted the tyranny of a court that knew not God nor the best interests of the state. And is it any wonder that they think to-day with joy- ful pride how their ancestors, of a noble faith and a simple ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. 191 form of worship, made the forests and glens of Scotland vocal vritli their psalms of praise. And how often are we pointed to that exhibition of faith and devotion in the history of the pilgrims of New-England, who, after a long and boisterous passage, disembarked from the storm-beaten Mayflower in the midst of a northern winter, waded through the surf to the icy shore, bowed in worship on the snow-covered rock of Ply- mouth, and there, finding what they had sought in this new world — liberty and a home — made that December sky echo with their songs of praise and voice of prayer. Grand as are these associations — and we acknowledge it all — is it not also worthy of remembrance that the church of our faith and order had its origin in that Dutch republic whose territory was rescued from the ocean by artificial embank- ments ; a republic that gave shelter to the persecuted of all other nations, receiving the Pilgrims and Huguenots when hunted by ci\'il and ecclesiastical intolerance from their own land ; a republic, whose noble constitution gave origin to our own form of government, and which stood so long as a rock against the in-rolling tide of Catholic dominion and prelatical and intolerant usurpation ? Our historj^, as a branch of the American church, is worthy of preservation, and I trust that God will make me thankful that I have a home, by birtli and education and ministerial life, in a church which hails from sturdy Holland. Let me now suggest, as an appropriate close to my dis- course, some lessons which the prayer of our text teaches. 1. Our gratitude is due to God for the gift of the fathers. A noble ancestry is a ground of gratitude unto God, aud no one can tell how much he is indebted for the bestowment of such an inheritance. The exhibition of their virtues and the power of their example has been sending down through suc- cessive generations the most healthful and beneficent influ- ence. God selected these agents as the pioneers of his Gospel in this region, and they have been made by Providence the instruments of conferring upon us and upon the world count- less blessings. These patriarchal men have stood before us during our exercises strong in faith, fervent in prayer, earnest in work for Christ, and exemplary in lite. And on the divine 192 ANNIVERSARY LESSONS. faithfulness in the fulfihraent of his precious promises we also will rely. " Know, therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." 3, We should foster and strengthen all those institutions which the father's estahlished. The policy and wisdom of the fathers was to establish, first, the church with all its necessary appointments — the outward edifice very simple and unadorned in its construction, but, for the times, convenient and ample, and not contrasting in an "unfavorable way with their own private dwellings. The ori- ginal house of worship, in Burnet street, was erected from the scanty means which the first settlers, in their poverty, conse- crated to the Lord. The second, built on this very site, of the more enduring stone, was a clear expression of the advancing spirit and liberal views of the congregation. This noble edi- fice, which has now stood in its massive proportions for more than half a century, on a still broader scale displayed the large-hearted liberality of those men who saw the need of such an edifice as this to adorn our city and invite generations to crowd its gates. The sad scene connected with its erection adds interest to this place of worship. The beloved pastor, wlio had ministered here for seventee]i years, saw the impor- tance of this enterprise, and upon the threshold of the work God took him. It was a day of mourning when the congre- gation gathered around his grave, beneath the walls of the old building now in process of demolition. Yonder is his monu- ment, and around this venerable church are resting hundreds to whom he preached, and the record of the sainted Condict is still precious to the people of the Lord. We shall show our appreciation of the work of the fathers by cherishing the institutions which they established. Are increased facilities demanded ? let us arise and build. Have we schools and colleges and seminaries ? let us see that these are maintained with vigor in our midst, and learn wisdom, by occupying important posts in the growing West, that we may do our part in providing means of intellectual, moral, and reli- gious culture for the whole land. ANNIVEESAEY LESSONS. 193 3. Let us imitate the excellences of the fathers. I have not represented tliem as perfect cliaracters. They had then- faults. But they were the faults of the age. And while we spread the mantle of charity over their failings, let us walk in the footsteps of their piety. It will be well for us to remember that the whole benefit of the past will be lost upon us if we so rely upon it as to make it a ground of rcpos(^, as if no further exertion was demanded. Do not let us, then, so rest upon the works of the fathers that we shall attempt no further progress. Let us arise and work for God, and pray, labor, toil for that gracious baptism of the Holy Ghost which would be such a crown of glory to our anniversary, and fill heaven with joy. We will prove ourselves worthy of our his- tory if we do the great work to which the providence of God surely points us. Let us, then, most fervently ofiTer unto God the prayer of Solomon at the dedication af the Temple, " The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers." Was God graciously present with the former pastors of this church, rendering them faithful in labors and successful in winning souls to Christ ? So may He be with him M-ho now serves his Master and this church of Christ in the ministry of the Gospel. May He make me a faithful ambassador for God, a diligent worker in the vineyard, and a true leader of the people. Was God with the ofiicers of the church, teaching them to rule well in the house of the Lord % So may lie be with these elders and deacons, rendering them efiicient co-laborers with the jjastor, and watchful over the interests of Zion. Was God with the young men of this church, giving them wisdom to consecrate themselves to Him in the work of the ministry? So may He raise up and send forth from this communion many who shall devote their talents to the blessed work of the ministry of re- conciliation. We remember the fathers, and how God was with them. But where are they? They have all passed away. Man dies, but God lives. Ministers, elders, members of this church are gone. Their bodies rest in hope in the ad- joining churchyard, while their spirits have long been with the Saviour in the land of the blessed. One hundred years ago, the spot on which we worship was 13 194 ANNIVEESARY LESSONS. consecrated to the God of Bethel. When the next one hun- dred years are added, what changes shall then have taken place ! It will, without doubt, be observed. But not one of us will be living to share in the succeeding anniversary. Long before that time, we will all have passed away. The church will be here, worshiping in this or in some future sanctuary. This beautiful river, with a name so redolent of the tribes who darted their swift canoes along its tide, will still flow onward to the ocean. These fields, so verdant, will still slope down to the river margin, yielding the finest of the wheat. All these institutions of religion and learning v^hich give honor to our city will abide, we trust, more vigorous with the increase of years. But we will not be of the number who make up the great congregation on that occasion. " Who'll pass along our city street A hundred years to came ? Who'll tread this church with willing feet A hundred j'ears to come ? Pale, trembling age, and fiery youth, And childhood, with its brow of truth ; The rich and poor, on land and sea — Where will the mighty millions be A hundred years to come ? " We all within our graves will sleep A hundred years to come ; No willing soul for us will weep A hundred years to come. But other men our lands will till, And others then our streets will fill, And others words will sing as gay, And bright the sun shine as to-da)^, A hundred years to come." ■ Part Third. "' APPENDIX. OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH, 1867. Rev. RICHAED H. STEELE. ISAAC VOORHEES, JESSE F. HAGEMAN, JOHN BEEKMAN, FERDINAND S. CORTELYOU, LEWIS APPLEGATE, GEORGE BUTTLER. HENRY K. HOW, GILBERT S. VAN PELT, V. M. W. SUYDAM, Deacons, NICHOLAS W. PARSELL, JOHN V. H. VAN CLEEF, JOHN STEWART. Treasttrcr . IRA CONDICT VOORHEES. APPENDIX. The lands west of the Raritan lots, extending back to the Millstone river, .ind as far up said river as Rocky Hill, (taking in nearly all of Franklin township, and a strip in addition on the south of the Six Mile Run Turn- pike,) were originally divided into four large plots, which may be in general thus described : The plot of Daniel Cox began at the north-west corner of Inians's two plots, near the Two Mile Run Tavern ; thence in a straight line south-west five miles, to a point a mile and a quarter south of Six Mile Run church; thence west-south-west three and one tenth miles to the road lead- ing from Ten Mile Run to Little Rocky Hill, being to a point on said road about one mile directly south of Ten Mile Run ; thence in a straight line north-north-east eight miles and thirty chains, striking and following what is known as the Middlebush road, (which is a remnant of this eight-mile line,) to a point on the Raritan lots, (either Jones's or Clement's lot, and now the farm of J. V. L. Van Doren,) and thence along the rear of the Raritan lots two and a half miles, plus ten chains, to the point of beginning, con- taining 7540 acres. (Amboy Records, Lib. G, p. 314; also, Lib. E, p. 3G5.) The proprietors sold this tract to one of their fellow proprietors, Daniel Cox, of London, September 1st, 1694. Signed Andrew Hamilton, David Mudie, Andrew Bowne, James Dundas, L. Morris, John Inians, Thomas Warne, George Willocks, Thomas Gordon, John Reid, John Barclay. The second plot begins at a point on Millstone River, opposite Rocky Hill, and runs east-south-east two miles, minus twelve chains, to the southern end of the eight-mile line before alluded to ; thence along said line three miles, minus six chains, and thence west-north-west two miles, to the Mill- stone River, where the Ten Mile Run brook empties into the same;- thence up the Millstone to the place of beginning, containing 5000 acres. John Harrison and George Willocks bought this tract, as well as the adjoining tract, of Daniel Cox, already described, in the year 1700. (Amboy Records), Lib. E, p. 3G5.) The third plot, bought by the same parties, begins at the mouth of Tea Mile Run brook, and runs two miles south-easterly to the eight-mile line (or the Middlebush road ;) thence along said line four miles and a half, minus ]98 APPENDIX. six chains, to a point half a mile north-cast of Middlebush church, and thence M'est-north-west three miles and eight chains to the Millstone I'iver, at the mouth of a little brook called Ledging brook, (this is one or other of the small streams within a mile south of East-Millstone ;) the fourth plot lying north of the last, and between it and the Raritan lots, (now known as the Cedar Grove District,) appears to have been taken pos- session of by William Dockwra, who owned neighboring lands on the Raritan and Millstone. At any rate, a portion of this land, sold by Richard Salter (Dockwra's agent) to Christian Van Doren, in 1723, had to be re- purchased as late as 1760, upon the representation that Salter had no right to sell it. There were several conflicting claims to this portion of Frank- lin township. (See Millstone Centennial, pp. 13, 14, 16, 19, and 21.) II. LIST OF FAMILIES IN THE CONGREGATION— 1732-3o. Jan Aeten, Jan Aeten, Jr., Thomas Aeten, Gerard us Banker, Jacob Buys, James Bennet, Jan Bennet, Elias Barger, Andre%v Blaew, Cornelius Bennet, Hendrick Blaew, Aerie Bennet, John Buys, Francis Costigin, Cornelius Cornell, Peter Cochran, Jacobus Cornell, Gerrit De Graw, John De Witt, G. De Peystcr, Frans Dilden, Hendrick Dally, Gideon De Camp, Philip French, Charles Fontyn, Hendrick Fisher, Abraham Fontyn, Folkert Folkers, Jacob Fontyn, Jaques Fontyn, Johannes Folkers, Isack Fontyn, Johannes Fontj'n, Reyner Fontyn, John Guest, Gerrit Gerritsen, John Gedeman, James Hude, Abraham Heyer, Daniel Hendrickson, Isaac Jansen, Peter Kemble, Paul Le Bnyton, Cornelius Low, Tennis Montague, Johannes Messekr, Paul Miller, Johannes Meyer, Peter Metselaer, Peter Moon, Samuel Mulford, Paul Miller, Andrew Norwood, Roelef Nevius, Frederick Outgelt, Jacob Ouke, Abraham Ouke, William Ouke, Jan Probasco, Christofel Probasco, Dirck Schuyler, V Jacobus Schureman, Cornelius Suydam, Hendrick Schenck, Roelef Seebring, ' Petrus Sleght, Abraham Schuyler, Gerrit Stoothof, Johannes Seebring. Lucas Smack, Aaron Sutfin, John Ten Broeck, Isaac Van Noordstrand. Dirck Van Arsdalen, Hendrick Van Deursen, Folkert Van Noorstrand, Jeremiah Van Derbilt, Hendrick Van Derbilt, Aris Van Arsdalen, Jan Van Buren, Dirck Van Veghten, Dirck Van Allen, Johannes Martinus Van Ilarlingen, Benjamin Van Cleef Aris Van Derbilt, Abraham Van Deursen, Abraham Van Doren, Aris Van Cleef, Minnie Van Voorhees, Peter Voorhees, Lucas Voorhees, APPEJfDIX. 199 Johannes Van Noidcn, Jan Van Niiyp, Gerrit VoorhccR, Christofel Van Dorcn, Iloclef Vonrhecs, Frederick Van Lieuwen, Frans Van Dyck, Dirck Van Norstrand, Ilendrick Van Derbilt, Nicolas Van Dyck, William Van Dcr Eype, William Williamson, Court Van Voorhees, Jacob Van End, Lawrence Williamson, Christian Van Doren, Matys Van Der Pvype, Leffert Waldron, Hendiick Van Lieuwen, Johannes Voorhees, Philip Young. III. CHARTER OF THE FIVE CHURCHES, KEW-BRUNSWICK, RARI- TAN, SIX MILE RUN, MILLSTONE, AND NORTH BRANCH, GRANTED JUNE Ttii, 1753 : George the Second, By the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc., To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Whereas, diverse and sundries of our loving subjects inhabiting within the several counties of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Middle- sex, in our Province of New-Jersej^ in behalf of themselves and others, being of the Dutch Protestant Reformed Church, by their humble petition presented to our trusty and well-beloved Jonathan Belcher, Esq., Captain- General and Governor-in-Chief in and over our Province of New-Jersey and territories thereon depending in America, Chancellor and Vice-Admiral in the same etc., setting forth that the petitioners are very numei'ous and daily increasing, and consist of five Churches and Congregations, to wit, The Church and Congregation of Raritan, the Church and Congregation of North-Branch, the Church and Congregation of New-Brunswick, the Church and Congregation of Six Mile Run, the Church and Congregation of Millstone ; That the most advantageous support of religion among them, requires that some persons among them should be incorporated as trustees for the community, that they may take grants of lands and chattels, thereby to enable the petitioners to erect and repair public build- ings, for the worship of God, school-houses and alms-houses, and for the maintenance of the ministry and poor, and that the same trustees may plead and may be impleaded in any suit touching the promises, and have perpetual succession ; and we having nothing more at heart than to see the Protestant Religion in a flourishing condition throughout all our domin- ions, and being graciously pleased to give all due encouragement to such of our loving subjects, who are zealously attached to our person, govern- ment and the Protestant succession, in our royal house, and to grant the request of the petitioners in this behalf: Know ye, that we of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, have willed, ordained, consti- tuted, and granted, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do will, ordain, constitute, and appoint, that the Rev. John Light, John Frelinghouse, Ministers, John Van Middlesworth, Peter Williams, Peter Van Ess, Andrew Ten Eyck, Daniel Ceybyrn, Peter Mountfort, Ilendrick Fisher, Cornelius Bennet, William Williams, Luke Voorhees, David 200 APPENDIX. Neviup, Simon Van Arsdalen, John Strieker, Reynior Vechtcn, Elders, and Frans Cusart, Andrew Monton, John Broca, Harman Lean, Cornelius Wyckoff, Peter Schamp, Hendrick Van Deursen, John Messelaer, Abra- ham Ilize, Christopher Hoglan, Rem Garretsen, Cornelius Van Arsdalen, Andrew Ilagaman, Abraham Ilagaman, and James V^an Arsdalen, Deacons of the Dutch Reformed Congregations above-named, and the counties aforesaid, and their successors hereafter, the minister or ministers. Elders and Deacons of the respective Churches or Congregations, which at or any time hereafter, be duly chosen or appointed, shall be and remain one body politick and corporate in deed and fact, by the name of the trustees of the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan, North-Branch, New-Brunswick, Six Mile Run, and Millstone in the counties aforesaid, and that all and every one, the ministers. Elders and Deacons before herein expressed, shall be the first trustees of the said churches and congregations now by these presents constituted and made one body politick by the name of the trustees of the Protestant Dutch Reformed Church, and shall so remain until others are duly called, chosen, and put into their respective place or places, and that they, the said body politick and corporate shall have perpetual succession in deed, foct, and name, to be known and distinguished by the name of The Trustees of the Dutch Reformed Church ; and all deeds, grants, bargains, sales, leases, evidences, or otherwise, whatsoever which may anywise relate or concern the corporation, and also that they and their successors, by the name of Tlie Trustees of the Dutch Reformed Church of Raritan, North-Branch, New-Brunswick, Six Mile Run, and Millstone, in the counties aforesaid, be and forever hereafter shall be, persons able in law to purchase, take, hold, or enjoy, any messuages, houses, buildings, lands, tenements, rents, or whatsoever in fee and forever, or for time of life, or lives, or in any other manner, so as the same exceed not at any time in the yearly value of seven hundred pounds sterling, per annum, beyond and above all charges, and reprizes, the statute of mortmain, or any other law to the con- trary notwithstanding, and also goods, chattels, and all other things to what kind soever, and also that they and their successors, by the name of The Trustees of the Dutch Reformed Church, shall and may give, grant, demise, or otherwise dispose of all or any of the messuages, houses, buildings, lands, tenements, rents and all other things as to them shall seem meet, at their own will and pleasure; and also that they and their successors, be and forever Jiereafter shall be, persons able in law to sue and be sued, plea and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be de- fended in all Courts and places, before us our heirs and successors, and before us, or any of the judges, officers, or ministers of us our heirs and successors, in all and all manner of actions, suits, complaints, pleas, causes matters, and demands, whatsoever; and also that the same trustees of the Dutch Reformed Chu'ches, above-named for the time being, and their successors shall and may.forever hereafter have and use a common seal with such device or devices, as they shall think proper for sealing all and singular deeds, grants, conveyances, contracts, bonds, articles of APPEXDIX. 201- agreemcnt, and all and singular their affairs touching or concerning the said corporation. And we do further ordain, will, or grant, that ail and every such lands, tenements, and hereditaments corporeal or incorporeal, money, goods, and chattels, which at any time before or after the date of these our letters patent, have been, or shall be, devised, given, or granted, to all or any of the particular churches above-named, within the said seve- ral counties of Hunterdon, Somerset, and Middlesex, or to any person or persons, in trust for them, shall be and remain in the peaceable and quiet possession of the corporation, according to the true intent or meaning of such devise or devises, gift or gifts, grant or grants : We do further will, ordain, give, and grant, that the trustees by these presents appointed, shall continue and remain the trustees of the Dutch Reformed Churches of Raritan, North-Branch, New-Brunswick, Six Mile Run, and Millstone, in the counties aforesaid, until others shall be called and chosen according to the manner, customs and methods now in use among the said Protestant Dutch Reformed Churches, which persons so called, elected, and chosen, shall have all the powers and authorities of the above-named trustees, and all and every such person or persons so newly called, elected, and chosen, as aforesaid, shall remain until other fit persons in liUe manner be called, elected, and chosen, in their respective rooms and places, and so toties qiioties. And we do further ordain, give, and grant, that there be a meeting of the several trustees of the churches aforesaid, at the Raritan public place of worship, in the Count}'' of Somerset, on the first Tuesday of August next, after the date of these our letters patent, and thereafter at such time or times, place or places, within the said counties as to them or the major part of them, shall seem meet and convenient, and then and there by plu- rality of votes choose a president out of them, for the time being, who shall have the custody of the seal or seals of the said corporation, and all books, charters, deeds, and writings, anyway relating to the said corporation, and shall liave power from time to time, and all times hereafter, as occasion shall require, to call a meeting of the said trustees, at such place within the said counties as he shall think convenient, for the execution of all or any of the powers hereby given and granted, and in case of sickness, removal, or death of the president, all the powers by these presents granted to the president shall remain on the senior trustee upon record, until the re- covery of the president or until a new president be chosen as aforesaid : And we do further will, ordain, give, or grant, that every act and order of the major part of the said trustees, consented or agreed to, at such meet- ing as aforesaid, shall be good, valid, and effectual to all intent and pur- poses, as if the said number of the whole trustees had consented and agreed thereto : And we do further will and ordain, that all the acts of the said trustees, or any of them, shall from time to time be fairly entered in a book or books to be kept for that purpose by the president of the trus- tees, for the time being, which book or books to be kept for that pur- pose by the president of the trustees, together with the seal of the said corporation, and all charters, deeds, and writings whatsoever, any way be- 202 APPENDIX. longing to the said corporation, shall be delivered over by the former pre- sident, to the president of the said trustees newly elected, as such pre- sident shall hereafter successively from time to time be chosen : And we do further of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, for us, our heirs and successors, by these presents give and grant unto the said trustees of the Dutch Eeformed Church, the ministers, elders, and deacons above-named, and their successors forever, that they and their successors all and singular, the rights, privileges, powers, benefits, emolu- ments, and advantages, to be hereby granted, shall and may forever here- after, have, hold, enjoy, and use without hindrance or impediment of us, our heirs or successors, or of any of the justices, sheriffs, escheators, coro- ners, bailiff's, or other officers and ministers, whatsoever, of us, our heirs or successors, and that these our letters, being entered upon record in our secretary's office of New-Jersej'', and the record and the enrollment thereof and either of them, and all and every thing therein contained from time to time and at all times hereafter be and shall be firm, valid, good, sufficient, and effectual in law towards and against us, our heirs and successors, ac- cording to tlie true intent and meaning hereof, and in and through all things, shall be construed and taken and expounded most benignly and in favor for the greatest advantage and profit of the trustees of the said Dutch Eeformed Church of Raiitan, North-Branch, New-Brunswick, Six Mile Run, and Millstone, in the counties aforesaid, and their successors forever, notwithstanding any defect, default, or imperfection may be found therein, or any other cause or thing whatsoever. In testimony whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent, and the great seal of our Province to be hereunto affixed, and the same to be entered of record in our Secretary's office of said Province of New-Jersey, in one of the books of record therein remaining, witness our well-beloved and trusty Jonathan Belcher, Esq., our Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief, in and over our said Province of New-Jersey, Chancellor and Vice-Admiral of the same, by and with the advice and consent of our council of our said Province, at Burlington, the seventh daj'- of June, and in the twenty-sixth year of our reign. IV. LIST OF MEMBERS IN FULL COMMUNION MAY 1st, 1794. 1. Jacobus Van Nuis. i 2. John Schureman, ) * , 3. Ann Deremer. ( 4. Peter Vredenburgh. 5. Johannah Van Harlingcn, widow of Garret Voorhees. 6. William Van Deursen, ) 7. Ann Stryker. f 8. Treytje Van Wicklen, widow of Fransis Van Dyke. 9. Mary Young, w. of Abraham Ouke. 10. Magdelina Vantinc, widow of Thomas Douty. 11. Edward Van Harlingen. 13. John Outgelt. * These braces indicate husband and wife. APPENDIX. 203 13, 14, V' 15. /16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 81. 32. 33. 34. So. 30. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. '43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 60. 51. 52. 53. 64. Ephraiin Vantine, ^ Johannah Stoothoff. \ John Thomson, ) \r. of Peter widow of Jr. of John w. of Isaac Jane Stryker. Elizabeth Fisher, Vredenbergh. . Margaret Standley, Frederick Outgelt. . Barent Stryker, ( . Elizabeth Bennet. ] . Peter Vredenbergh, . Frederick Outgelt. . Abraham vSchuyler, . Alechi Voorhees. Elizabeth Van Dj-^ke, widow ol Frederick Van Liew. Catalina Voorhees, w. of Matthew Egerton. Neltje Voorhees, widow of Ferdi- ,; nand Schureman. Neltje Schureman, w Van Ilarlingen. Ann Schureman, Vantine. John Van Este. Corneliusjiapleje. Janetje (Jornell. Garret Voorhees, \ Maretje . f Dina Ditmars, w. Vantine. Susana Van Este, w. of Je- romus Rapelje. Elizabeth Campbell, widow of Charles Vantine. Aerientje Nevius. Denice Van Liew, \ Dinah Durye. \ Peter Voorhees, ) Mary Buys. ) Elizabeth Deremer, seph Sillcox. Mary Snoterly, w. Nighmastei'. Ariantje Croescn, w. of William Nevius. Catelina,wid. of LucasVoorhees. John Wykolf. Frederick Van Liew, Ann Rappelje. Mary Van Arsdalen, w. of Abra ham Lott. Cornelius Suydara, \ Rachel Collens, William Van Duyn, Lena Voorhees, of Benjamin w. of Jo- of Leonard "} 55. Mary Stolts, w. of Frederick Out- gelt. 56. Ariantje Van Este. 57. Catelina Cornell. 58. Rachel Totten. 59. Mary Ryder, w of Roelef Cornel. 60. Elizabeth Stevenson, w. of Peter Voorhees. 61. Martha Mount, widow of James Voorhees. 62. Anetje Cornell, w. of Cornelius Van Derbilt. 63. Arientje Cortelyou, w. of Roelef Cornell. 64. Jane Nevius, widow of Ryck Van Derbilt. 65. Maria Melleger, w. of Isaac Ben- net. 66. Ida Van Derbilt. 67. Christina Pieterson, widow of Joris Rappelje. 68. Neeltje Nevius. 69. Aaltje Rappelje, w. of Ilendrick Suydam. 70. Simon Probasco. 71. John Buys. 72. Catherina Collier. 73. John Whitlock, ) 74. Eleanor Voorhees, ) 75. Geertje Vantine, w. of David Nevius. 70. Jane Williamson, w. of Corne- lius Van Duyn. 77. Machteltje Peterson, w. of Jcre- mias Rappelje. 78. Doretta Lott, w. of John Van Liew. 79. Ann Hanco, w of Dirck Van Arsdalen. 80. Ann French. 81. Nicolas Bordine. 82. Philip Ouke. 83. Peter Ten Eyck. 84. Magdalena Messerole. 85. Margareta Vredenbcrg, w. of An- drew Powers. 86. Lenah Van Devoort, widow of John Messerole. 87. Abraham Ackerman, ) 88. Jane Romeyn. f 89. Altje Tunison, w. of John Van Est. 90. Bernardus Garretsen. 91. Abraham Lott. 92. Martha Striker, widow of Albert Collins. 204 APPENDIX. 93, Martha Collier, w. of Garret Ger- ritsen. Dinah Hardenbergh, -widow of Rev. J. R. Hardenbergh. Eleanor Hendrickson, w. of John Buys. 94. 95 96. Frances Covenhoven 97. Nicolas Van Brunt, 98. Catherine Covenhoven .1 Y. MEMBERS OF THIS CHURCH WHO HAVE ENTERED THE PEL MINISTRY. GOS- The following members who united with this church by profession of their faith, have gone forth to preach the Gospel. I include the names of the five sons of Mr. Frelinghuysen and the two sons of Mr. Leydt,* though they do not appear among our members. But they stand on our register of baptisms, and as this was their home, it is a natural inference that they here united with the church by profession. I omit a list of about the same number who were members by certificate : RECEIVED. LICENSED. Rev. Theodore Frelinghuysen 1745 " John Frelinghuysen 1750 " Jacobus Frelinghuysen 1753 " Ferdinandus Frelinghuysen 1753 " Hendricus Frelinghuysen 1755 " Samuel Verbryck 1744 1748 " Matthew Leydt 1778 " Peter Leydt 1788 " Abraham Van Horn 1786 1788 '' John S. Vredenbergh 1796 1800 V' John Schureman, D.D . 1797 1801 " Robert Bronk 1811 1813 "■ Nicholas J. Marsellus, D.D 1812 1815 " Abraham D. Wilson 1812 1815 " Jacob D.Fonda 1817 1819 " James B. Ten Evck 1818 1821 '• David Abeel, D.D '. 1821 1826 " Jefferson Wynkoop ] 821 1824 " Robert J. Blair 1822 1823 " John G. Tarbell 1822 1825 " Samuel Centre 1822 18— " Ira Condict Boice 1823 1826 " Cornelius C. Van Arsdale, D.D 1824 18— " Frederick B. Thompson 1827 1834 " JohnManley 1828 1831 ' " Richard L. Schoonmaker 1828 1832 " John Forsyth, D.D 1828 1832 " John 0. Van Liew, 1829 1832 *' Peter D.Oakey 1830 1844 " James A. H. Cornell 1837 1841 " Martin L. Schenck 1837 1840 " Charles S. Hageman, ....D.D 1837 1843 *' Paul D. Van Cleef, D.D 1837 1846 " John A. Staats 1837 1840 APPENDIX. 205 RECEIVED. LICENSED. Rev. John L. Janeway 1837 1840 " David D. Demarest, D.D 1837 1840 " William H. Steele 1837 1840 " John De Witt, D.D 1837 1843 " William A. Cornell 1838 1844 " Abel T. Stewart 1838 ' 1846 " Cornelius E. Crispell, D.D 1838 1842 " Charles R. Von Romondt 1841 1844 " William D. Buckelew 1841 1851 " Abraham V. Wyckoflf 1842 1845 " James 13. Wilson 1842 1851 " John N. Jansen 1848 1851 " Philip Furbeck 1848 1851 '' William W. Letson 1850 1854 " Robert R. Proudfit 1855 18— " Alexander Proudfit 1855 18— " Nathaniel H. Van Arsdale 1856 1867 " Richard M. Whitbeck 1858 1862 INSCRIPTION ON THE MONUMENT ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF REV. JOHN H LIVINGSTON, D.D. Sacred to the memory of the Rev. John H. Livingston, D.D., S.T.P. Born at Poughkeepsie, State ot New-York, May 30th, 1746 ; educated for the ministry at the University of Utrecht, in Holland ; called to the pastoral office of the Reformed Dutch Church, in New- York, in 1770 ; appointed by the General Synod of the Reformed Dutch Church in America, their professor in didactic and i)olemic theology, in 1781, and elected to the presidency of Queen's College, New- Jersey, in ISIO. There, in performance of the duties of his office, and blessed in the enjoyment of mental energy, high reputation, and distinguished usefulness, he suddenly but sweetly fell asleep in Jesus, January 20th, 1S25, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, the fifty-fifth of his ministrj-, and the forty-first of his professional labors. In him, with dignified appearance, extensive eru- dition, almost unrivaled talents, as a sacred orator and professor, were blended manners polished, candid, and attractive, all ennobled by that entire devotion to his Saviour which became such a servant to yield to such a Master. In token of their gratitude for his services, and veneration for his memory, the General Synod have ordered this monumental stone to be erected. INSCRIPTION ON THE MONUMENT ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF REV. JOHN SCIIUREMAN, D.D. Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of Rev. John Schureman, D.D., professor of pas toral theology, ecclesiastical history, and church government, in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church, at New-Brunswick ; who, while engaged in a course of active and highly useful labors, enjoying the confidence of the churches and the affections of his brethren, departeii this life, May 15th 181S, in the fortieth year of his age. 20G APPENDIX. VI. CHURCH OFFICERS. bldJrs. April, nn Roelef Seebring 1718 Aart Aartsen Isack Van Dyck Roelf Seebring j 1719 Jan Aten Laurens Willems 1720 Charles Fontein 1721 Roelef Neyius Johannes Folker- sen 1722^Thonias Eowman 1724 Johannes Stoothof Roelpli Neviusj 1725 Thomas Bowman Minne Van Voor- hees 1727 Johannes Stoothof Minne Van Voor- hees liendriok Fisher 1T32 Hendrick Fisher Abraham Ouke Roelef Nevius 1733 Roelef Seebring Roelef Van Voor- hees 1734 Albert Voorhees Petrus Slegt 1735 Hendrick Fisher 1736 Hendrick Fisher Roelef Nevius Abraham Ouke 1740 Gerrit Gerritsen 1741 Jeremiah Van Der- bilt 1742 Hendrick Fisher Gerrit Gerritsen 1743 Hendrick Van Leu- wen Roelef Voorhees 1749 Cornelius Bennett DEACONS. Hendrick Bries Roelf Lucas (Van Voor- hees) Johannes Folkers Hendrick Bries Roelef Lucas 1750 1752 1753 1754 1756 1757 William William- son Gerrit Gerritson Hendrick Fisher Chris'n Van Doom Petrus Sleght Johannes Messe- laer Cornelius Bennett William Van Duyn Hendrick Fisher Jacob Ouke Hans Stoothoff Hendrick Bries Laurens Wilirase Minne Van Voorhees William Moor Hendrick Fisher Abraham Ouke Hendrick Fisher Albert Voorhees Albert Voorhees Abraham Ouke Cornelius Bennet Jeremias Van Derbilt Peter Wilmsen Jakobus Buys Dirck Van Arsdalen Derrick Van Arsdalen Gerrit Fabryck Jan Aten, Jr Nicolas Van Dyck William Davids William Wilimsen Abraham Van Dooram Nicolas Van Dyck Christian Van Dooram Peter Slegt Hendrick Van Deusen Johannes Meselar Abraham Heyr Derrick Van Veghte Abraham Van Doom Andrew Meyr Johannes Schureman Archibald Tomson Peter Vredenburg Albert Voorhees Abraham Van Doom Cornelius Seebring Ernestus Van Harlin- gen Jacobus Van Nuise Hendrick Van Derbilt John Thompson James Stryker William Van Deursen John Thomson Peter Vredenburg, Jr. Jacobus Stryker Johannes Van Neste Frederick Van LeuweD Frederick Outcalt John Thomson Denice Van Liew John Bice James Striker Garret Voorhees ELDERS. 1765 Hendnck Fisher Fernard Schure- man Derrick V'n Veghte Johannes Schure- man John M. Van Har- linger 1789 Peter Vredenburg William Van Deur- sen 1790 Adrian Hageman Abraham Schuyler Rynear Smock ] 1793 John Schureman John Van Neste William Van Deur- sen Garret Voorhees March 12, 1794. *Denice Van Liew Peter V. Voorhees, son Peter Vredenburgh, Jr. of Garret Francis Covenhoven Aprii. 5, 1795. Peter Vredenburgh, Sr. Nicholas Bordine Nicholas Van Brunt Cornelius Kappleyea April 25, 1796. Philip Oke John Wjckoff April 20, 1797. John Thompson, Sr. Cornelius Van Debilt Frederick Outgelt Simon Anderson April 20, 1798. Denice Van Liew Francis Covenhoven Abram Schuyler Henry Cock May 14, 1799. Nicholas Bordine Benjamin Taylor William Van Deursen Abram A. Voorhees Mat 13, 1800. Peter Vredenburgh, Jr. John Van Liew Peter Voorhees, of Mid- Peter Tenike dlebush May 19, 1800. ♦tAbram Schuyler JnNK 15, 1801. Frederick Outcalt Ruliff Cornell ♦William Van Deursen Jerome 0. Rappelyee March 30, 1S02. Philip Oake Abm. Lott Garret Voorhees j Cornelius Cornell April 17, 1803. Cornelius Meflar Benjamin Taylor Nicholas Bordine Simon Anderson May 19, 1804. Denice Van Liew Frederick Outcalt, Jr. Alexander Rosegrants John Van Harlingen * Reelected. t To fill vacancy. $ Died In office. APPENDIX. 207 elders. deacons. Mat 5, 1805. William Van Deursen Peter Voorhees Frederick Outcalt Philip Pierson JlAY 10, ISOO. John Wyckoff Peter S. Wjckoff Philip dake Henry Cock May 3, 1S07. Abram Schuyler Benjamin Taylor Micbolas Bordinc John Buice May- 14, 1S0S. John Vun Harlingeu Jlichard Lupardua Jeromus C. Kappleyee John Van Liew May 15, 1809. Frederick Outcalt Abrah.am Voorhees William Van Deursen Bernardus Kider May 12, ISIO. Philip Okey Henry A'an Arsdalen Peter Voorhees (Middle- David Fine bush) May 1, ISll. Benjamin Taylor *.Vl)raliam Voorhees I'eter Wyckolf Jacob Bergen Jri.Y 15, 1812. ^Vi^iam Van Deursen Dennis F. Van Llew Garret Voorhees Frederick Outcalt, Jr. May 14, 1SI3. Nicholas Bordine John Boice Abin. Broner P;;ter P. Voorliejs April 30, 1S14. lUchard Lupardus Abm. Van Arsdalen John WyckofT Peter Gordon tHenry Van .\r?dalen tJohn D. Van Licw Aprii. 3, 1SI5. *IIeury Van Arsdalen *Jolin Boice *J«hu D. Van Liew Garret Van Arsdalen March 11, 1816. Peter Voorhees Henry Outcalt Peter Vredenburgh, Jr. Jacob J. Bergen Abraham Voorhees tUriah Lott John F. Van Liew (one Henry Johnson year) William French (one year) March IS, 1810. -(•Francis Covenhovcn tBernardus Kyder March 17, 1817. Henry Cock George O. Nevius Peter Gordon William Ha^anum Philip Okey *$Uriah Lott September 15, 1817. tJames Schureman Richard Manley March 17, 181S. John D. Sufphin Frcdoiick Van Liew John Boice Henry Hoagland Garret Voorhees tAbm, Van Arsdalen April 20, 1819. Dennis F. Van Liew Thomas Letson iVederick Outcalt Henry Outcalt Henry Van Arsdalen Garret Van Arsdalen elders. dea( ons. April 23, 1819. t James Schureman April 18, 1820. Garret Van Arsdalen *Uichard Man ley John C. WyckofT Dcnice Van lyiew Jeromus Rappleyea Cornelius I. Wyckoff tJacob J. Bergen May 3, 1821. Peter Voorhees Nicholas Booraem David Fine Abm. 0. Voorhees George G. Neviiis John Van Nortwick May 10, 1822. John D. Sutphin William French Henry Hoagland Jacob Wyckoff Henry H. Schenck John SlothofT I April 7,1823. ' Francis Covenhoven Adrien Manley Henry Outcalt Robert Lyle I Frederick Outcalt Rulif Van Nostrand Aprils, -1824. Peter Gordon *Henry H. Schenck Peter Voorhees David Nevius Henry Van Arsdalen David D. Nevius (Mid- tPhilip Okey dlebush) tFrederick Van Liew May 29, 1825. George G. Nevius Thomas Letson Abraham Voorhees Jacob Wyckoff Abm. O. Voorhees Isaac S. Brower I tllenry V. Deinott • I April 1, 182C. ! Richard Sfauley Abraham Suydam Cornelius I. WyckofT Henry Vroom Jacob I. Bergen *Henry V. Demott March 20, 1827. Frederick Outcalt George Boice, Jr. *Thotnas Letson Abm. V. Thompson Henry H. Schenck Isaac G. Sillcocks MARCii 24, 1823. Henry Van Arsdalen Richard Duryea, Jr. John StothofT Powell Dehart Nicholas Booraem Ralph Voorhees March 23, 1829. George G. Nevius William Mann Jacob Wyckoff David Nevius David Fine James Garretson March ai, 1S30. Richard Manley Abraham Suydam Henry Outcalt Henry Dehart Frederick F. Van Liew Cornelius Van Dorcn Fedruary 22, 1831. Henry H. Schenck Henry Vroom Lewis Carman William Sunderland Isaac a. Sillc Isaac S. Brower ♦tDavid Fine ! Perruarv 21, 1S32. Nicholas Booraem Powell Dehart Richard Duryea, Jr. Henry V. Demott John Stothoff William W. Van Duyn Fedrcary 18, 1633. Thomas Letson Lewis D. Hardenbergh George 6. Nevius Henry Van Liew Jacob Wyckoff George Boice, Jr. tDavid fine 208 APPENDIX. elders. deacons. Febrdart 14, 1834. *.Iohn Stothoff Henry Schenck Henry H. Schenck John Doty Abraham Suydam Nicholas E. Baynon June 7, 1884. tGeorge Boice February 9, 1835. Powell Dehart John W. Brunsoii Lewis Carman James Garretson Richard Duryea, Jr. Cornelius L. Harden- bergh February 1, 1836. *George Boice Jacob T. B. Skillman Dnvid Fine Nicholas Booraem David Voorhes, Jr. John Degraw tPeter Buckelcw John Doty Abraham J. Voorliees February 4, 1839. David Fine Johnson Letson Kichard Manley John W. Bergen Lewis Carniiiii John IL Stotboff February 3, 18-10. James Garretson Kichard Outcalt Peter Wyckoff Nich. R. Cowenhoven Nicholas Booraem William McDonald February 9, 1841. Jacob Wyckoff *John H. StotholT John Doty James H. Newell Henry Hoagland John W. Brunson February 7, 1843. Powell Dehart Jacob Dehart George G. Nevius John Johnson ♦James Garretson Henry Vroom February 15, 1848. Henry H. Scheuck James Van Nuise Richard Manley Johnson Letson David Fine George Eldridge *tJacob Wyckoff February 7, 1844. Richard Outcalt Peter Wyckoff, Jr. Peter Buckalew Jacob T. B. Skillman Francis C. Manley John M. Ilagaman February 5, 1845. James Garretson William Waldron Abraham J. Voorhees John S. Letson Authur B. Sullivan Lewis Applegate February 4, 1846. Powell Dehart Robert Van Nuise Henry Vroom Benjamin V. Ackerman John Doty Stephen Voorhees February 10, 184T. Henry H. Schenck William G. Dehart elders. deac0k3. February 2, 1848. Peter Wyckoff Ralph Van Nostrand David Voorhees Lewis Carman Peter 0. Buckele« James Egerton February 13," 1^37. Hem-y H. Schenck Jacob H. Outcalt Cornelius L. Harden- James I. Garretson bergh Jacob A. Van Deventer William Mann February 5, 1838. Henry Van Liew *David Voorhees George Boice, Jr. Henry Van Arsdale February 7, 1S49. Nicholas Booraem Cornelius Van Neste David Fine John A. Manley William Waldron David Cole February 5, 1850. James Garretson Jacob Outcalt Henry Van Liew Jesse P. Hagaman George Eldridge Alfred VV. Mayo February 5, 1851. John Doty James Wyckoff Jllenry H. Schenck Isaac Voorhees { Peter Buckelew Lewis Applegate ! ; May 7, 1851. ; *;JPeter Z. Elmendorf j February 11, 1852. James Conover Martin Nevius Johnson Letson Peter V. Wyckoff John W. Brunson Stejjhen Voorhees February 9, 1853. John Doty James Van Nuise, Jr. Kichard Outcalt William G. Dehart I Cornelius Van Neste George Ackerman February 16, 1853. tWilliam McDonald tJesse F. Hagaman February 4, 1854. Abraham J. Voorhees Ira C. Voorhees AVilliam Waldron Peter Wyckoff, Jr. James Garretson John Clark, Jr. February 15, 1855. Nicholas Booraem John Bergen John Johnson John W. Brunson James Van Nuise, Jr. Isaac Voorhees George Eldridge Henry Van Liew Ralph Voorhees Jonathan B. Connett January 31, 1S56. John Johnson Robert Van Nuis Jacob Outcalt R. V. V. Bailey Ralph Van Nostrand Krozen T. B. Spader January 29, 1857. David Voorhees Jacob H. Outcalt Johnson Letson Rich'd A. Van Arsdale Alfred B. Van Derhoef Benjamin V. Ackermaa *tJohn BeiTjen February 11, 1858. William McDonald Isaac Voorhees AVilliam Waldron Lewis Applegate John W. Brunson Charles Dunham tJohn A. Manley February 10, 1859. .Tacob Dehart James H. Sillcocks Ira C. Voorhees George Butler Martin Nevius James Garretson, Jr. *tJohn A. Manley February 19, 1860. William G. Pehart Peter V. Wyckoff James Egerton Abraham A. Voorhees Peter Buckelew Jesse F. Hagaman APPENDIX. 209 ELDERS. DEiCOSS. February 7, 1S61. .Tfimes Garretsoa Lewis Applcpate Johnson Letson Jonathan B. Connett David Voorhees George V. Smith February 6, 1S02. John Berpen Jlenry II. Booraem John W. lirunson Isaac Voorhees John"lI. Tapping John S. Dchart February 5, 1S6.3. John Johnson George Buttler John M. II:igaman Adam Lutz Benjamin V. Ackerman ifJolin Clark, Jr. February 4, IS&l. Nicholas Booraem Richard A. Van Arsdale Henry Van Liew Krozer T. B. Spader John V. M. AVyckoff Abm. A. Voorhees ELDERS. DEACONS. February 2, 1S65. Johnson Letson David Coddington Martin Nevius John lirunson Ira C. Voorhees Henry V. D. Schenck February 8, 1866. Isaac Voorhees John Beekman Jesse F. Haeaman Van Marter W. Pnvdam Gilhert S. Van Pelt Henry K. How tJohn S. Dehart February 9, 1867. Ferdinand S. Cortelyou John S. Ftewart Lewis Applegate John V. H. Van Cleef George Buttler Nicholas W. I'arsell VII. MEMBERS OF THE FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH OF NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J. (c for certificate ; in for living members ; names inclosed in braces indicate husband and wife ; names of ministers in small capitals.) "the church members of the river and LAWRENCE BROOK, 1717." Adriaen Bennet ) Angenietie f Aart Aartsen \ Klisabit S Isack Van Dyck ) Barbera ( Boelof Seebring |_ Christyn ( Johannes Folkersen I Angenietie ) Hendrick Dries I Heniie ( Koelof Van Voor- ) hees V Helena ) Laurens Wilimsie I Saara ) Bnelof Nevius | Katalyna ) Jan Van Voorhees I Neeltje f Minne Van Voorhees I Antie f Samuel Molfort Maria Frelanth Jaknbus Oukee I Henne ( Johannes Stootliof | Neeltie )' Abraham Bennet | Jiinnitie J Klisabit Dries Jakis Fontyn ) Annike ) Siaarls (Charles) Fon- tyn Helena Annatie Folkersen Jakobus Buys ) Marrietie j Jan A ten Thomas Aten ) Klsie r Thomas Davidts | Annatie j" Heelena Hogelandt Willira Klaasen I Marija f Maregeretie Reynierse Thomas Bouwman | Neeltie ) Marten Van Der Iloeve William Moor Andries Woortman ) Jannitie f Johannes Koevert I Jannitie f Dnrbara Janse Niccklas Bason Hendrick Meesch ) Annamadeline ) Ik-rnardus Kuetor ( Elizabeth C Johannis Metsolaer Geurtie Smock Elizabit Smock Christofel Van Ars- dalen Madaleentie Jakop Corse I Adriaantie ) Katrina Boyd Cornelius Sudatn \ Maritie Joris Anderse i Jacomendie i The above list comprises the original membership of the church, and was completed probabI.T about .\ugust 1st, 1717. There are seventy-three names, embracing that portion of the Three Mile Run church living in the neighborhood of New-Brunswick, and favoring this enterprise. April 5, 1720. Jacobus Pchurerman Albert Van Voorhies c i Staetje Staats, w. of ArriMentie c. j Hendrick Blauw c William Tysen Van j Gillesje Van Ksp, w. of De Kype c .\udrie3 Bouwman c Aaunetje ] August 11, 1721. Abraham Ouke Cornelis Bennet Hendrick Vi33er(Fislier) September 20, 1728. Peter Plegt Koelef Voorhees, Jr. Peter Willimsen Jan Aeten, Jr. Saertie, wld. of Voorhees u Mat 17, 1734. Catharintja Slegt September 20, 1736. Jacobus Garritsen Lemetje Volkers Isaac Jansen c I Jannetje c f September 10, 1738. Anna Baum, wid Jan De Peyster Nicolas Groesbeck Johanna Corlear Catharina Van Emburir, Lea Range w. of Richard Gibbs of Nicolas Daily Jannetje Wilmsen Willem Wilmsen Abraham Uaeir 1740. Aeltje Van Norden.wid. Nicolas Van Dyck of Jan La Monies c Joslna Van Norden 210 APPEXriX. Ai-GCST 10,1741. Klizabeth Daeyli Gerliardus Eauclier c I Catheiitia Schuyler Maria De Peystor c f John M. Van Harlin- | Irla llendrickson gen c y Dirck Scliuyler Maria Bussing c ) Isaac Van Noordstran Hendrick Van Deur- | Archibald Tompson sen c y Hannah Meier Arrienfje Staats c ) Susanna French Dirck Van Vegten c Kebecca Montaugue Maria Beillo, wid. of Anna Clarinson Joseph Smith c Marrietje Van Uer Bilt Annat^niith, w. of lien- Antje Van Aersdalen drick Langeveld c Aeltje Van Aersdalen March 29, 1744. Jacobus A'an Nuis Elisabeth Ten Broecke, Samuel Vkrbkyck w. of Dirck Van Philip Yong Vegten Eva Tys October 27, 1749. Jan Voorhees \^ Elizabeth Meyer, w. of Neeltje j Petrus Slegt Cutel>-ynt.je, w. of Hen- drick Blauw November 9, 1750. Peter Vonrhees J jAntJe Deremer, w. of Sophia Van De Boo- ~ gard Coba Scheurman, \ of Archibald Tliomp- son. NOVE.MBER 2, 1752. Fredrick Berge c ) Johannes Martinus (levretje c f Van Harlingen Albert Voorhees c ) Arnoldus Van Ilarlin- Adrianna Van Der- > gen voort e "" L Johanna Van Harlin- Margaritje Terhune,^ gen, w. of Oerret wid. of lienricus /; Voorhees. r"" ■ . A'au Dyck, ElizaUetli Dererfier, w. Marritje Van Arsdalen c of Abraham Van- I'etrus Vreiienl)erg teyn Francois A'an Dyck Treiumetje Voorhees Johannes Schureman April 1, 1753. William Van Dnyn His wife (AntJ VjMer Stryker Andrew Meyer' Oeorge Anderson Denys Van Duyn I Lena j Siuion Van VVicklen His wife Derek Rajipleyea 1 Ealtje, w. of Cornelus I'iterson Ant.je, wid. of Hen- drick Smock Derrick Volkersen Lidia, w. of Cornelius Buys Peter Cowenhoven I His wife f Elizabeth j Etlje, w. of Evert Johanna Daely, wid. of Duyckin Bernardus Begardus Marrytje, w. of Jan Noordwyk October 25, 1754. Hendrick Onderdonk c Elizabeth Oathout, w. Antje Van Cielder, vv. of of Jan Ten Broek c Johannes Folkerse c Mat 15, 1765. Aasje Erickson, w. of Marytje WyckofF, wid. Jan Van Orden c of G. Garretsen May 27, 1757. Hendrick Van Derbilt Lena Denyse, wid. of Cornelius Sebering Fredrick Van Lieu- Keyk Van Derbilt wen Maria La Fever, w. of Lebytje Dries, w. of .lohannes Vanteyn Hendrick Fisher 'Villiani Van Deursen Maria Ouke. w. of Angenitje Bennet Catherina Tenbroek, w. of Derrick Van Alen Abraham Heyr. December 23, 175S. Jan Misserol Lena Vauder-'oort )rt j November 2, 1759. Johannes Van 1 Genletje Vredenburg, Schaick c V w. of Laurens Van Aleha Bogart c ) Kanip Treytje Van ^Vickle, w. Maria Oothout of F'rancis Van Dyck Elizabeth Van Deursen May 14, 17(13. Gertruid Schuyler, w. Ernestus Van llarliu- of John Cociiran c gen. Jannetje Stryker, wid. of Jacobus Stryker c November 4, 1763. John Philip Herbit c May 8, 1764. Cornelius Clapper June 13, 17CG. Lucas Voorhees ) Neeltje Van Derbilt ( Abraliam Van Leuwen Eva Ouke Denvs Van Leuwen | Ida Wykhoir ) ICngelje, w. of John Sleight April 17, 17C7. Samuel Molfort November, 1769. Catlyntje Westervelt, w. of Johannes Ity- der June 2vS, 1770. Jacobus ter Van Devon- | Elizabeth Ppringstein ) Catrina Stryker, w. of William Van Deur- sen. Maria Young, Abraham Ouke w. of Magdalen, w. of Tho- mas Doughty Antje Van Cleef, wid. of John Wilson John Voorhees Fredrick Oudgelt c October 2, 1772. Jacobus Cornel Edward Van Harlingen Leflert Waldron Abraham Ouke Johannes Oudgelt Ephraim Vanteyn I Johanna Stoothoff ( Johannes Thomson ) Jannetje Stryker ) Jacobus Uassert Geertruy Schuyler, w. of Peter Voorhees Maria Van Derbilt, w. of Johannes Voor- hees. Elizabeth Fisher, w. of Petrus Vredenburg Margaret Standley, w. of Fredrick Oudgelt. September 16, 1773. Abraham Freland c ) Lenah Ackerman c ) Abraham G. Acker- | man c > Jannetje Romeyn c ) Meyer, wid. of Frans Bralt George Anderson } Metje Van Wickelen f Barent Stryker ( Elizabeth Bennet ( Jannetje Voorhees, w. of Jacobus Cornell John Sleght May S, 1779. Peter Low ) Janitje Van Deursen ) Aaron Gilbert Jacobus Stryker Maria Smyth, wid. Maria Lefevre, wid. Altje Tunison, w. of Jo- hannis Van Nest o Peter Vredenburgh, Jr. c Margaret Schureman Bernardus Gerritseu ■J APPENDIX. 211 June 2S, 1782. '-Dirck Dercmer Neltje Schurenian, w. FredricU OutgeU of John Van Harlin- Abraham Schuyler (^ gen Aelchi Voorhees ) Ant.je Schureman, w. Fredrick Van Lieuw- | of Isaac Van Tyn men V Nelt.je Schureman, wid. Elizabeth Van Dyck ) of Ferdinand Schure- Catelyna Voorhees, w. man of Matthew Kgerton NOVEMDER 9, 1786. Abraham Lott c Cornelius Rappelje Martha Str\ ker, wid. of Jannetja Cornel Albert CoUyer c (Jarret Voorhees ) Sfartha Collyer c Marretja Ditmas ) Dina Hardenbergh, w. Dina Ditmas of Rev. J. U. Harden- Susanna Van Neste, w. bergh c of Jeromus Rai)i>leje Johannes Van Neste Elizabeth Cammel,wid. AiiiiAUAM Van IIokne, of Charles Fonteyn Jr. Arriantje Nevius June, 17S7. Adriaen liegemen c Margaret Snotterly, w. Uarbara M. 'reison,wid. of Leonard Nighmas- of Richard Gibbs c ter Nela Ilendrickson, w. Ariantje Croesen, w. of of Johannes Buys c William Nevius Dennice Van Lieuw ) Margareta Nevius, w. Dina Durye j of James Renten Peter Voorhees I Catalina, wid of Lucas JIarya Buys j Voorhees \/ Elizabeth Deremer, w. of Joseph Cilco.'c November 2, 17ST. John WyckofT JIary Van Arsdalen, w. Fredrick Van Leuwen ) of Abraham Lott Antje Itappeljee f June 7, 178S. Cornelius Puydam ) Elizabeth Stephenson, Rachel Collens j w. of Peter Voorhees Villiam Van Duyn \_ Martha Mount, w. of Lena Voorhees ( Jacolnis Voorhees Maria Low, w. of Peter Annaet.je Cornel, w. of Dunmnt Cornelius Van Der- Maria Stolts. w.of Fred- bilt lick Outgelt Rachel Collens Ariantje Van Neste Elizabeth Stephenson Catalina Cornel Martha Mount Rachel Totten Maria Ryder, wid. of Roelf Cornel NOVEMBBR 8, 17SS. Peter Crolius c I Marya Mellger, w. of Mary Lock c ) Isaac Rennet 'J'eunis llappeljee ) Ida Van Derbilt Antje Dorlants I Christeyntje Pietersen, Ariantje Cateljou,w. of wid. of Joris Rap- Roeir Cornel peljee Janetje Nevius, wid. of Aaltje Itappeljee, w. of Ryck Van Derbilt Ilendrick Suydam Junk 6, 1TS9. Frances Covenhoven c Jennetje Williamson, Simon Probasco w. of Cornelius Van John liuis Duyn John Whitlock ^ Marcliteltje Pieterse, Neely Voorhees ) w. of Jeromus Rap- Peter V. Duniont peljee Geertje Fonteyn, w. of Doretta Lott, w. of Jan David Nevius Van Leuwen October 23, 1789. Jacobus Stryker c | Anne Hans, w. of Dirck Sara Messelaer c j Van Arsdalen Anne French ; C 1 Philip Ouke 0- >■ Peter Ten Eyck j Maria Suydaui JuLT 7, 1702. Nicolas Van Brunt c Catherine Covenho- ven c Nicolas Berdine ' Magdalene Messercle Cornelus B. Wyckoff July 20, 1793. Margarite Vredenburgh, w. of Andrew Powers May 3, 1794. Jacob Rappleyee Elizabeth, wid. of Jaco- Joseph Silcocks bus Gulick c Maria, Voorhees w. of Abraham Slover Jaquish Van Liew Maria Van Liew Ann, w. of Jacobus De- Ann Colclier, w. of hart Nich's Bordine Elsey Van Dervoort, w. Sarah Dehart, w. of Ru- of Abram Voorhees lif Voorhees Sarah Perine, w. of Sarah Van Tine, w. of Rev. Ira Condict c Jacobus Hogeland c. Elizabeth Trinibach c Helena, wid. of Lucas w. of Stephen Van Voorhees Siclen October 5, 179.5. Johannah Voorliees Mary Covenhoven, w. of Pliebe Tenike, w. of Si- Hendrick Bergen mon Probasco M.1Y2, 1795. Simon Anderson I Mary Van Angler f James Striker c ( Benjamin Taylor c ) Sarah Mesler c f Catharine c )' October 3, 1795. George Rappleyee ( Mary Covert, w. of Jane Bergen \ Abram Van Doren Phebe Van Deveer, w. Johannah Bennett, w. of John M. Voorhees of James Perine Mary Van Tine, w. of Maria Farmer, w. of Catliarine Van Derbilt, w. of Jacob Meserole Jerome Van Este Henry Outirelt i Margaret i Henry C^ck (^ Jane Gulick ) Matthias Van Der- veer c Nellie, serv't of James Schureman c April 23, 1706. Cornelius Van Derbilt Jacob Mescrole Cornelius Van Diiren Sarali Ijoop Polly Lott Getty Wvckoffc Jane Van N'ortwick, w. llilleje Van Deliilt, w. of of John Bice c Dennis Stryker c October 22, 1796. Van Harlingen | Cornelius ing j John S. V John Van Harlingen Gertr Cornel UKDENBCRGII October 22, 170C. Sarah Taylor, w. of Christiana, w. of Peter John Voorhees Tlioiii|)son Catherine Van Deursen Ann Thompson Sarah Whitlnck, w. of Daniel Brinson Apr.iL 29, 1707. John ?cnuREMAN Abraham Voorhees Catliarine, wid. of Jas. Catharine Brown, w. Brown of Philip Oky Mary Mount, w. of Nancy Farmer, w. of John Voorhees Jacob Bordine Sarah Johnson, w. of Eve.lohnson. w. of AVil- Abram Buckeliew liani Van Sichlen Cornelia, serv't of Jas. Schureman 212 APPENDIX. //fr I October 21, 1797. John Van Devender Benjamin Woodward Alclie Rappleyea, w. of Maria Vredenburgh, w. John Bergen of Matthew Sleght Ann Spader, w. of Fred- Ann Van Arsilelen, wid. erlck Van Liew of Ilendrick llulick Eve, serv't of Abrara Voorliees c April 15, 179S. Rulif Cornel Catharine Haviland, w. Frederick Outgelt I of Abram Van Tine Abigal Voorhees j Samuel, serv't of Abm. Adrien Van Nostrand | A. Voorhees Helena Meserol f Maria Meslar c Ann Vooi-hees, wid. of Rem Garrison "| Jacob Hazard Elizabeth Vacter m '■ Catharine Seoby, w. of now the wid. Abraham Voorhees John Williamson Cornelius Meslar c \ Andriantha c j Christiana G;ddiman, wid. of Gideon Van Canipen October 26, 1798. Frederick Van Liew John Nevius \J Jane Striker, w. of Jane Schureman, w. of Francis Covenhoven Abraham Van Arsda- Mary llofmer len Ceasiir, serv't of Jero- Sarah Nevius ■ mus Rappleye May 10, 1799. Peter Voorhees Bernardus Rider John Van Liew Auttie Van Doren Anna Voorhees, tt. of Ann Smock, wid. of Peter Vredenburgh John Outer Ellen Schuyler, w. of Margaret Ellis, w. of John Clark Wra. Van Horn OCTOBKR 19, 1799. Garret Nevius John Demott April 25, 1800. John Manley | Elenor Williamson, w. Charity Addis j of James Schureman Lanah Van Tine, w. of Elenor Schureman Jolin Dunham /Catharine Hude, wid. V Elizal)eth Nevius of Cornelius Low Oke Van Ilanglen c Lanah Scliureman, w. of Jonathan Combs October 10, 1 SCO. John Bergen Anna, w. of John Van Lanah Voorhees, w. of Liew Peter Voorhees Mary Cock, w. of Caleb Betsey Garretson Haviland May 8, 1801. Philip Pierson Sarah Garrison, w. of Mary Uowlin, w. of Dirck Demutt John Nevius Temperance Tallmage, Peter Wyckoff C ) w. of Abram Acker- Gertrude Nevius c ) man Alexand'rRosecransc I Scitje Nevius c Mary Wortman c f July 12, 1801. Mary Baldwin, w. of Philip Pierson c October 2, 1801. Dinah Van Wicklen, J aneVan Middle swarth. wid.of JohnProbasco V? ot John Bennet c Catharine Van Arsda- Barbara Garrison, wid. len, w. of John Van of John Voorhees Nostrand Idah Garrison Elizabeth, w. of Martin Catharine Garrison Cozine c April 30, 1802. William Nevius Elizabeth Voorhees Luke Knight Hannah Hoagland, w. Catharine, w. of Jno, of Joakim Van Ars- Van Arsdalen dalen Abraham Van Arsdaltn October 16, 1802. Daniel Pierson Elizal)eth Covenhoven, w. of George Rapple- yea April 29, 1803. Mary McNeil, wid. of Creshe Van Derripe, w. John Bennet ' of John Van Nuise October 15, 1803. Jerome Rappleyea, Jr. Cornelius Dehart Elise Underdunck, w. of John Stotoff May 19, 1804. AVilliam Dehart Elizabeth Jaquish, w. Sarah Voorhees, w. of of Nich, Van Brunt John Perine Johannah Striker, w. d Anna Reynolds, w. of Martinus Stepliison Christian Van Nort- Sarah Smock, w. of wick c Abram Voorhees October 20, 1804. Idah Omerman, w. of Jane Covenhoven, w. Cornelius Dehart of Garet Nevius Nancy Sorvice, w. of Catharine Silcocks, w. Isaac Hulick of Aaron Ross c May 5, 1S05. Peier Wortman c October 27, 1805. Anne Houten, w. of Agnes Ackerman, w. of __ Jlendrick Van Dyke Daniel Pierson Joseph and Phebe, servants of Henry Vacte c May 10, 180G. Richard Lnpardus David Fine c f" John D. Striker c Ann Cortelyou c J May 3, 1807. Henry Van Arsdalen Dennis Van Liew Willaril Preston Hannah, servant Of Lidia Carle C Staats Van Deursen OCTOBKR 3, 1807. Mai-garet Schureman Elenor Rue, w. of John Gordon c May 14, 1808. William French I George Lott Catharine StothofT j Jane Voorhees, w. of Martha Vacte, wid. of Richard Manley Jacobus Garretson October 29, 1808. Cornelius Bordine Garret A'an Arsdalen | Abigal Denton, w. of Alche Dehart f Obadiah Buckelew William Hagaman C Robert AVatts C I Ann Bell C ) May 6, 1809. Nicolas Borum \ Elizabeth Montania Mercy Rolf ) wid. of Ambrose Ap- John II. Caile pleby Patience Williamson, Sai-ah, serv't of Samuel w. of Joshua Martin Dunham APPENDIX. 21:3 October 14, ISOO. Harriet Suydam, w. of Mary Schuyler, wid. of Micliael Garrish m Matthew Uue Anna Voorhees, w, of Anna Rreese, w. of Minard Wilson Guisbert Deliart February 5, ISIO. Henry Johnson May 12, 1810. Elizabeth Bemott, w. Sarah Carle, w. of Wm. of Philip Okey Van Dore a Tum son c Mary Rfeeth Meserole, w. of Elijah Hunt Rebecca Jenkins, w. of Wm. Low Elizabeth Van Horn, w. of Wm. Williamscn Sarah Allen Amos Cornell c I Mary Totten c f Mary Voorhees, w. of William Phillips c William Schanck Henry H. Schenek, M.D. c Ellen Hardenburgh c Helen A'oorheea, w. of Nicholas Wyckoff Ellen Huyler, w. of Hen- ry V. Low Mary Lawrence, w. of Nathaniel McChesney Mary Buckelew, w. of Peter Buckelew Sarah Manley, w. of Henry Ha^'aman m Maria Silcocks, w. of Christian Van Doren Margaret and Haniiaii, persons of color AvA Nkal c Sarah Van Doren c Elizabeth Carsnn, w. of James Deiitun Susan Evertson Alida Gaasbergh c Mays, 1S16. Peter Skinkle Deborah Voorhees, wid. of Garret Van Der- veer Catharine Striker, w. of Andrew Craig Sarah, Mark, Dinah, Phebe and Caty, per- sons of color CoiiNKMUS BOGARDUSC John D. Sutphin c I Alletta Van Doren c ( Frederick Van Liew \ Maria Voorhees f Ann Suydam, w. of Stephen Mundy [da Van Liew Sarah Thompson, w. of Wm. Hall m c Elizabeth Thompson, w. of Abm. Pittenger c Mindart Wilson c \^ Ann Voorhees c ) October 25, 181C. Cornelius WyckolT ) Gitty Ellison, w. of Jon- Klizabeth Van Nest f athan Dunn m Mary Dumont, w. of Elizabeth Van Deventer, Samuel King w. of Jacnli WyckolT //t Hannah Dunham Sarah Van Doren Elenor Van Liew Rachel Baldwin, a per- Margaret Bergen, w. of son of color Nathaniel Compton c Mary Brown, w.of Benj. Elizabeth Arrowsmith, Taylor wid. of John Kells April 25, 1817. James Schureman William Benton Jacob D. Fonda Lydia Cheeseman, w. of Jas. Ackerman Ann Britton, w. of John Thorp Eleanor Hendrickson. w. of Wm. Van Deur- sen Ralph Van Nostrand Julia Ann, w. of Caleb PecUham Ann Stanley Ellen Nevius I Rebecca Appleby John Brown John Van Liew Ida Van Arsdalen. w of Henry P. Van Arsd.v len Eve Voorhees, w. of Hen- ry H. Schenek m Lyiiia Freeman, w. of David Schureman Marjtaret Harris, w. of Abm. 0. Voorhees John C. Van Dekvoortc Maria V.in Liew Mary Oake.v Sirah Ann Potts Martha Jeukius, colored 2U APPENDIX. April 15, 1818. Aflricn Manley I Letitia Schenck, wid. of Cith'rine Coverhoven ) Israel Harris John Ditmars Charity Manley, wid. of Blary Motreland, wid. of John Reed Jolin Silcox Mary Vronm. w. of Ja- Catharine Schureman cob D. Wyckoff Catliarine Van Liew Arietta Van Arsdalen Caroline M. Ilankinson Sarah Sutphin G-ABRiKi. Ludlow c Hannah, Dinah and Di- Eieanor Schureman, w. nah, Persons of color of C. Johnston Jared Dewing c Abraham P. Voorhees November 7, 1818. Jane Voorhees, w. of John H. Speer IIann;ih Lyle, w. of Ja- cob Richmond Nancy Hart, w. of Cor- nelius Bergen Catharine Voorhees Susan, w. of Caesar Rap- pleyea, colored Catalina V. S. Kyley, w. of Rev. John Ludlow c Abraham Van Tine Richard Van Arsdalen Joanna Schuyler, w . of Staats Van Deursen Ann Desrraw, w. of Amos Flagg ?M Tilary Griggs, w. of Abm. Lott Elizabeth Compton Sarah Probasco John Rawls c Jamks li. Ten Eyck Mary Van Brunt, w. of Peter Garritson April 28, 1819. Henry II. Schenck Robert Lyle Mary Sutphin, w. of Rebecca Kemer, w. of Henry Taylor Henry Oram Mary D. Combs, w. of Mary Marsli, w. of Dan- William Oram iel Van Arsdalen Sarah Taylor, w. of Jas. Ida Van Liew, w. of [len- Underdunck ry Demot Eleanor Ten Eyck Eve AVedsell Betty and Caty Smock, Ann Hopper, w. of John persons of color Van Nortwick c Elizabetli Moncoucha, w. of Miles Smith c October 29, 1819. George Rappleyea Richard Wynkoop Cataline Voorhees Ann Hulick, w. of Angle- Hannah and Julia, per- burt Hartough sons of color Isaac M. Fisher c Seymour 1. Funck c Herman B. Strvker c Joseph Wilson c Charles Whiteuead c Mat 13, 1820. Mary Hill.yerj wid. of John Van Nortwick Martin Nevuis November 25, 1820. Eve Finley, w. of John Mary Conover, w. of Jo- Van Horn sepli Van Doren c Abraham Fort c Ferdinand Van Der- Dow Van Olinda c veer c Samuel Van Vecuten c William Ferry c May 26, 1821. John Stothoff ) Robi:rt J. Blair IdaGarretson j Maurice W. Dwight e Robert Clark and Jane, Catharine Burchan, w. his wife c of Rev. Isaac Ferris c ElizMbeth Vechte, w. of John Williamson November 10, 1821. Phelje Bennett David Abeel, Jr Jacob Wyckoff Sarah Conover Nancy Seguine, wid. of Dorotliy Van Liew, w. of Cornelius Wyckoff tn U. Traphagen Susan Rowland Abraham Messlrr c Jefferson AVtnkoop GustaVcT^eel c William Ckuikshank c Wm. S. Dillingham c Gertrude Harris c Catharine L. Harden- burgh m April 27, 1829. Letitia Brunson, w.of Harry Quick, person of John S. Lerson c(jlor 7« Sarah Mount, w. of Gar- Catharine Moor, w. of ret D. Stryker John Fine Maria Jenkins October 20, 1822. of Abraham J. Voorhees ) Letitia llappleyea ) Susan Bennett Elizabeth Bennett Maria Bergen, w. Matthew Egerton Ann Hassart m Catharine Stoothoff Mary Van Derveer Mary Taylor, w. of Geo. A. Jenkins George Boice Gertrude Gordon, wid. of John Co.\ G Samuel Center John G. Tarbell Isaac Langstaff Ann Vian Nuis, w. of Peter Wyckoff Maria Bordine, w. of Archibald Thompson Maria Ann Denton Catharine Sranluy Eliza Hutchings Rachel Voorhees Ann Oakey Sarah Van Liew David Nevius, Jr Isaac Fisher c ) Maria c ( Elizabeth Booraem, wid. of Abrain Van Nostrand 7« April 2G, 1S23. Ephraim Marcelius David Nevius, Jr. David Nevius | Joseph Brewer Jane Van Derveer J Garret Nevius Ann Martin Isaac S. Brovver j Margaret Thompson, Ann Bennett ) w. of William W. Van Mary, wid. of James Duyn Wilson Sarah Nevius, w. of Catharine Lyle Isaac Voorhees Henry V. De Mott Catharine French Besj, Van Keurkn c October 19, 1823. Ira Condict Eoicb Caroline Ilapart Maria Van Liew 7n Mary Schanck, w. of Catharine Outcalt, w. Henry Solomon ot John Voorhees Peter K. Voorhees ) Wm. W. Van Duyn Sarah Garretson ) Lanah Voorhees, w. of Caty, person of color Dennis Van Derbilt Hannah Van Arsdalen c Elbert Slingerland c Hannah, Eve and Sa- rah, colored c January 4, 1824. Cornelius C. Van Ars- John A. A'oorhees dalen Lanah Voorhees Susan Boice Margaret Cook, w. of Abm. V. Schenck April 3, 1S24. Mary Stanburry, w. of Elizabeth, w. of William John Hutchings Mann c Flora, a person of color Charlotte, daughter of Mrs.Cath'rine Herder c William Mann c Joanna B. Abeel C Maria Conover, w. of Joanna Hardenberg Jos. Van Doren c July 3, 1824. Elizabeth Nevius Peter Voorhees c Mary Packer c 7n Cornelius Messier C I James Stevenson e Jemima Ten Eyck c ) September 28, 1S24. Lanah Van Arsdale, w. Henry V. L. Dehart of J. Stillwell JIaria Reisner Flora, a person of color Sarah Minor, w. of Jo- Christ's Z. Paulisos c seph Hall c APPENDIX. 215 JiTLY 2, 1S25. ITarriet Van Yninken, Stephen Rider w. of Uev. John S. Cliiirlotte Andre, wid. of Mabon Wni. Suydain Catharine S. Conover Ellen Thompson c Frances I{. Cook, w. of Miriam, person of col. c Uev. Jas. B. Harden- bergli c October 9, 1S23. Catharine R. Tice Ann M. Bridpen, w. of Matilda Voorhees Rev. John De Witt, Dominions J. S-'tryker c I).D. C Henrietta A.Vethake ni Jane Metlar, \v. of Jas. A. Van Deventer -wi January 16, 1S26. I'nwell Dehnrt Mrs. Davis c Klizaheth Kisher ^ViHiam Mann Klizalietli Itmu-e, w. of Susan Ann Taylor Stephen i^tront; Charity Martin, w. of Ann Fisher, \v. of Law- David Lisk rence Fishery. Mercy Dunn, \v. of Fred. Elizabeth Stephens, II. Outcale wid. of Jacob E. Tu' Henry IIkrmancec nison William Sunderland c | Bkxj. B. Wkstfai.l c Leah Powelson c ) Cornelia, w. of Rev. Dr. ■\Voodliull c Margaret Steele, w. of Itev. Philip Milldollar, D.D. c April 16, 1S26. Abm. V. Thompson Mary Piersnn, wid. of Nelly, wid. of Jerome Ephm. P. Dunn Van Derliilt Lettitia Rowhmd, wid. Elizabeth Stanley, w. of John Whitlock of Peter Obert Providence Runyon, w. Thomas, svt. of Henry of George Boice Veghte Jacob Davies c I Maria Broach, w. of Mary Holford c f Samuel Thomas c John J. Powelson c I Ai.exandkr M. Mann c Maria Dehart c j Isaac G. Sillcocks c I Abraham Suydam c Nancy Sebring c f Hager Calder, person Henry Vrooni c of color c July 29. 1S26. Catharine Van Nord- Dinah, svt. of Henry strand, w, of A. V. Veghte Thompson m Jamk.s Dkmarest c I Catharine, w. of Jasper Mary Schoonmaker c ) Provost Elizabeth French, wid. James J. Garretsen c \ of J. Van Vleet c Elsie Wortman c ( October 21, lS2fi. Ann Blakene.v Helen Suydam. w. of Christina Lyle, w. of Aaron iiennet John Van Nuis »?» Sarah Mundy, w. of Julia Norman, w. of Ralph Voorhees m Wm. V. Hardenbrook Mary Ann C. AVllson, Jane Bergen, w. of w. of Rich. Duryee, Wm. Wilson c Jr Harry, a man of co- Maria Arro\v?mith,wid. lor of John Chivis c January 20, 1S27. Uicharil Duryee, Jr Richard Van Brunt I'eter Serviss Frederick B. Tho-mpson Julia Ann Low Jane Garretson Esttier Ten Brook Margaret Baird, w. of Sarah Ann Elberson, w. Jeremiali Van Lieiv of John I'rall Jane Ten Brook, w. of Mary H. Warren, w. of Isaac Voorhees m Cornelius L. Harden- Phebe Lewis, w. of burgh c Griffeth Harriott c Peter Buckelew c \ ADfee Harriott, woman ^lary Buckelew c f of color c Surah Van Derveer, w. Harry, person of color of Elias Conover c Gaiuiet C. Schanck c April 14, ISCT. J"hn M. Hagaman wi. Maria Harriet Stanley Eliza Thomjison in Abigal Van Di-venter m Mary Ackerman M;iria Van Harlingen, Susan Maria Griffeth, wid. of Abm. Dilmars w. of Thos. B. Bell Margeret Henderson. Catharine Van Dine, w. of Cornelius De- wid of John Ranken hart, Louisa Gregory, w. of Sarah Willett, w. of Rev. J. G. Tarbell Nicholas Hooraem Dinah Voorhees, m, Jane Van Doreo, »t William Wilson c Cornelius Van Doren, Mary Ann, w. of Rev. Sen. c John Mulligan c Cornelius Van Doren, ) Sarah Britton c Jr c '■ Martina Talmage C Mary Brokaw c ) Ann Vredenburgh c Maria C.Vredenburgh f lliilph Voorhees Harriet Vredenburgh <; July 14, 1S27. Martha Hall, w. of Maria Messier, w.^ of Isaac Silcocks Peter Blew Frances Green, w. of Thos. H. Dunn October 14, 1S27. Garret Van Riper Gilbert D.Van .\r*dalen Margaret Jloore, wid. Ellen Davis, w. of Mah- of Abm. Hutchings Ion Carel Magdalena Bell c Lena Van Duyne C January 19, ls28. John Manley Mary Ann Manley, w. Catharine Van Zandt, of Zibulon Mount w. of Clark Smith Caty Baldn in, colored Mrs. Mary Smith c person Ann Van Neste, w. of William II. Cooper c James Harriott c April 12, 1S23. Isabella Hull, w. of Ann Bennett, w. of Wm. Henry Sillcocks m W. Schureinan m Abigal Sturges, w. of Phebe Hnssart, wid. of Cornflius Dehart m Dr. Montgomery Letitia Hassart Catharine Wyckoff Magdalen Terhune,wid. Mrs. Ann Caldwell c of George Talmage c Harriet Caldwell c Ann Maria Caldwell c Elizabeth, col. c Mary Riley, col. c July T, 182S. Mary Loyd, wid. of Jno. Alletta WyckolT, w. of Hrndricksou Jereniiih Vourhees Jacob Ennis c Betty Polhemus, col. c October 18, 182S. RicmuD L. SciiooNMA- Henry Wyckoff KER John V. liobbins John Forsyth Elizabeth G. Bell Thomas Vail Mrs. .Mary Hampton c Stephen Ryder o Sarah Schenck, w. of Elizabeth English, w. Joseph Van Doren o of Abm. Suydam o Frank, man of color c January 16, 1S29. Jacob Van Arsdalen Francis Hampton Ann Coddington, w. of Jemima Barkelew, w. Geo. Boic", Jr. m of John King c Henry H. Dehart c I Amelia Lott c f April 6, 1S29. Hannah Blanchard, w. Charlotte Dehart, co- ot Abm. H. Meyers loreB person July 6, 1829. James C. Zabriskie Mary Hagaman c Mrs. Theodosia Sut- Ralph Van Norstrand phin c c m Abraham Bennett c ) B ireiit Voorhees c • Catharine c ) Mary Johnson, colored John Cannon Van Likw person c 216 APPENDIX. October 12, 1S29. Abraham V. Schenck Henry Schenck Cynthia Stanley, w. of Abhaham II. Meyers c Peter Packer Rachel Mundy, \v. of Adrianna Vethake c Daniel C. Grue Ann Dumont, w. of Cor- Catharine S. Denice, w. nelius Emmons of Lewis Conover January 12, 1S80. ijetsey and Julia, co- Alletta Beekman c lored persons Mrs. Amy Scott c May 80, 1830. Mrs. Ruth Van Tine Matilda Manley m Samuel Crane c ) Frances Itichardson C j Sarah Conover c Susan Fislier, w. of Pe- ter P. Van Dorea Martha G., w. of Rev. J. J. Janeway, D.D. c William Sunderland c ) Leah Powelson c ) Joseph Quick and Nel- lie, persons of color c September, 1830. Peter Davis Oakey Lrosard Rodgers C \ Oscar H. Gregory c Eliza Fletcher c ) Johannah Freeman, person of color December, 1830. Rachel Wooden, w. of Sarah Farmer, w. of Pe- Thomas Vail ter O. Buckelew Susan Clnyd, w. of Julia Henry, w. of John James Fisher G. Fisher Guisbert Deliart Joseph IJreese John H. Bkvier c Elihu Doty c Catharine, wid. of Hen- Peter J. Quick c ry Plum c m Benjamin Bassler c February, 1831. Elizabeth Dehart, w. of Eliza Maria Hall, wid. Abram Van Arsdalen of Chas. A. Stewart Sarah Estler, \v. of John V. N. Waycoff September 10, 1831. Gertrude Abeel Sarah, wid. of Peter R. Mary Adeline Van Wag- Voorhees ner. w. of Rev. John Jacob A. Van Deventer C. Van Liew Jolin W. Branson ( ohn Thompson Sarah Van Tine j December 24, 1831. Catharine Parker, w., of Cornelius Loyd Abm. P. Provost John C. Baldwin c Alexander II. War- mer c March 9, 1832. Peter H. Blew John H. Stothoff John Duty | Rebecca Wyckoff j Eliza Williamson Harriet Plum Margaret Post m Eleanor V. Manley Margaret H. Buckalew Helen Maria Wyckoff Robert O. Curri|; c Win. J. Van Arsdalen Garret V. Manley Sarah Ann Wyckoff, w. of David S. Garrigues Deborah Van Derveer, w. of David Codding- ton m — Catharine Thompson m Delilah Dunn Mai'paret G. Harriott Sarah E. Manley Eleanor WyckofT Abigal Van Derveer Junk 16, 1832. Ann Graham c Mary Snowdan, w. of K*becca Parker c Rev. S. B. How, D.D. William W. Perrine c \ c ^ Sarah Voorhees c i September 8, 1832. John Degraw Cornelius L. Ilarden- bergh Jacob Dehart ■>n Nathan F. Denton Mary Cheesnian, wid. of Rich. White Elizabeth Degraw Jane Cox, wid. of Peter Suydam Lewis D. Harden- | bergh c > Ellen Voorhees c \ Peter V. Degraw I Elizabeth J. Conover ) AVilliam E. Conover Henry Van Liew m Ann Eliza White m Jane Fletcher Mary Voorhees, wid. of Garret Thompson Dominicus J. Stryker C Charles E. Ford c December 8, 1832. David Voorheei, Jr (Abraham Bergen Ann Eliza Clarkson m j Nicholas E. Baynon George Boice Emma L. Hapart Jane Van Sickell, w. of Julia A. JIcKnight, w. Wm. Goodhart of Rev. A. H. Du- J. T. B. Skillman,M.D. 1 mont c C V Alexander Gulick C Rachael Ayres c m ) William J. Pohlman C Jane Tisen, wid. of Susannah Staats c Abm. Staats c March 9, 1833. John Moule Fanny Jane A'an Liew Mrs. Elizabeth Degraw c Lewis H. Terrill c 150BERT A. QUIN C Slercy Ann Manning Anthony Voorhees, per- son of color James Garretson cm} Catharine Wortman c ) of Eliza Fletcher, Rodgers Eliza Gulick James H. Newell c \_ Eliza D. Ilankinson c ) William Reilley c Caroline Green, wid. of Samuel Degraw John F. Mksicic c Harrison IIeeu.aunce c September 7, 1833. Elizabeth Harriott m John A. Voorhees c } Joseph B. Beekman c I Catharine Outcalt c f Sarah Burniston c ) Maria Buckelew c John P. Van Arsdalen c Amanda Buckelew c Maria Dumont, w. of Jane Van Doren c Win. Elmendorf c Eliza Webb, w. of John D. Hager December 7, 1833. Samuel 0. Crane Hart E. AVaring c Ferdnand Y. Cortel- ) Sarah Williamson, w. you c y of John Creed Margaret G.Harriott c ) Mrs. Catharine A'an Margaret Smith Ewing, Middlesworth wid. of Dr. Morris c Hanna^i M.' ftlorris C Ann H. Ayres, w. of John Whitbkcic c Henry Van Liew c m March S, 183 J. Henry Solomon Arrietta Hoagland c Maria Voorhees m John Pearman I Mary Ann Richmond, Ida Van Arsdalen ) wid. of Dr. J. Boyd M.ria Ten Eyck wi . June 7, 1834 Ida Van Liew, w. of Rosannah Rappleyea, Abraham J. Voorhees person of color Elizabeth Ann A'oor- Mrs. Nancy Davis C hees, w. of Jacob Hannah Davis c Outcalt ?» Dinah Perrine, colored Henry Hoagland c I person c Gertrude Van Lieu c j Jane Jackson APPENDIX. 217 September 20, 1834. Kliza Lawrence, w. of Sarah Dehart, w. of James Van Nuise m Mattliew ¥,. iiergen PLebe Musherole, wid. Sarah Hoagland of Fred. IJuckelew Archibald M. Gordon m Abraham J. A'oorhees John Voorhees, person m of color William McDonald December 13, 1834. Kliza Williams, w. of Juliet Smith, w. of (iarret Nafey m Lewis Carman, Jr Alice Conover, wid. of Jane Kelley, wid. of llichd. Rapplejca Henry lloagland 'in Nancy Dunham Mrs. Maria llnaglancl John W. Cortelyou c \ Ida Reasley c Mary And Beasley c \ Elmira Howard c Anna L. Stewart, w. of John Lillis c John H. Stothoff Eve, a person of color Klizabeth Gordon c m M.4.RCH 7, 1835. Jacob H. Outcalt m ) Mary Ann Rappleyea, I'ruderice Kunyon ( w. of Nich. liefferts Syclie Boice, w. of Thos. John Pray Knox c Clark cp June 20, 1S35. Catharine A. Schenck Mary J ane Tuni son. w. Mary Voorhees, w. of of JacBb lienart m Peter Stevenson Abraham Voorhees c Mrs. Mary Uifthtmire c Wm. Green c J) Sarah B. Egerton ni September 5, 1835. Simon H. Bergen ni John W. Berp;en Matthew IC. Bergen Kliza Degraw Jane Bordine Kliza Conover, w. of Joseph Rappleyea Hannah Ten Kvck m Jane White, w. of John Garret A'an Liew Jackson, persons of Elizabeth Van Liew color m- Aaron Van Pelt Sarah Stelle, person of color December 5, 1835. Catherine Cortel.vou, w. Ellen Voorliees, wid. of of Henry Sillcocks Eleazer Losey Lj'dia Buckelew, w. of Rachael Van Zandt, w, Cornelius Van Sick- of Jonathan Provost ell r,i William IL Smith c Jane Van Arsdale c Gertrude Jane Voor- Joanna A'oorhees, w. of hees c m A'oorhees Cortrlyou c Is vac P. Stryker c CotiNELiusS. A'anSant- Elizabeth Van Dyke, VDOKD c wid. of Isaac Ter- JoUn J. A'an Antwerp c hune c Marcu 5, 1S36. Lucas H. Hoajrland 7n Lydia Mount, wid. of Eliza Shaddle, w. of John Buckalew Johnson Letson rii Frances Tilton Susan Voorhees, person Matthew lirnwn c ) of color m Garretta Quick c ) 1'IIIU.IP Bkett MiLLDOLLAR June 18, 1836. James C. A'an Dei'bilt tn James Ejcerton m ) Eliza Wendover, w. of Phebe Conover m ) Evert Ejrerton Margaret Van Nor- Helena Hutchinson, w. strand c of Cornelius Provost Abraham Bergen C Cornelius A'an Neste c 1 Cornelia Bnice Susannah L. Van Der- V Catharine Hamilton veer c m ) Ellen Voorhees, wid. of Isaac Miller c September 3, 183C. John M. Hoagland Slartha Garretson Jeremiah AVhitenack c I Henrietta A'an Dervecr Alletta c ) December 4, 1836. John A. Manley m Elizabeth A'^rodenburgh Ellen Cox, w. of Ste- Ann Makel, w. of John 7)hen A'oorhees Connelly m John Johnson c Rosauna Voorhees e March 4, 1&3T. Jane Voorhees, wid. of Eliza Provost C Jolin U. Speer June 8, 1SS7. James Fisher Richard Outcalt «l Ralph N. I'erlee Jonathan B. Stewart AA'illiam Blakeney ( Ida Ann Dehart f George Eldridge ?)l Peter A'room John F. Cornell Maria Fulkerson, vr. of Henry V. Dehart Isaiah Rolfe | Cliarlotte Mead ( James A. H. Cornell Mamtn L. Schknck Mary Augusta Harris Eliza Afipleby, w. of AVm. Rhodes Abigal A'oorliee!!, w. of Nich. B. Dehart Edwd. Cunningham Sophia Fish. Catharine Perry, w. of Catharine Flagg Dr. John Cool Eliza Haviland, w. of Mary A'oorhees Losey Barent A'oorhees m Adeline Fisher Catharine A'oorhees, w. Margaret \. D. Haga- of Anthony Farmer, man m Lucretia Ann A'an Nuis Esther Baldwin, w. of Mary Ann A'an Nuis Harry Freeman Chas. S. Hagaman Isabella Stelle AViluam S. Moore c { Mary Ann c j Christopher Giffing c I Catharine C ) Frederick Outcalt AVilliam G. Dehart m 1 Maria Schenck m J Ezekial Miller Lemmetie Lott, wid. of John Remsen c Catharine Thompson c m Thomas, Dinah Cono- ver, m, and Dlow, persons of color September 1, l?o7. Adriana Nevius, w. of Lewis F. Runyon m Ann Lappleyea, w. of Nich. R. Cowenhoven Catharine E. Oakey Sarah Mann Margaret McNair, w. cf Henry A'. Dehart Catharine Meseroll Louisa Booraem Catharine O. Nevius Anna Maria Garretson Adeline Bergen, w. of Nicholas Hoagland in Emmeline Booraem Kveline Oakey Johnson Let.son m Paul D. A'an Clekf Peter P. AVyckoff ?« | Jane Howell f James Wyckolf | Sarah Outcalt ( Elizabeth Parsells Mary Aim Henrd Sarah Ann Dehart Ida Voorhees Elizabeth Boice Lewis Api)legate m Theodore Dehart ;/i Luke Hassert Abraham Oakey 7/1 John L. Janeway Abigal Slover c o Joanna A'an Derbilt trt Joanna A'an Deusen ■/«. Getty Ann A'oorhees m Alletta Dehart m Jane .Mletta Degraw Catherine Degraw Amelia Miller Eliza Jane Garret Eliza liiiee, w. of Isaac B. Van Dyke Abigal A'oorhees m James A'an Xuise, Jr Robert A'an Nuis m Richard A. A'aQ Arsda- len m John A. Staats Abraham Powelson AVilliam R. Janeway Elizabeth A'an Nor- strand »? Catharine A'leet, w. of Peter 15. Me.*erole Tlieodosia .\tkinson, w. of John Nafe.v m Margeret Buckelew, w. of John Connet m JIary Ann GilBng John S. Letson m Jesse F. Hagaman m Henry A'an Arsdalen, Jr William Mc.'scroll Louisa Runyon, w. of Nelson Boice 21S APPEXDIX. Eliza Freeman cp Alice Thompson cp Mary Eliza Reasonercp Flora Lupardus C p m Betsey Bergen c p Jane Ditinars c p ■\VilIiam Hart.ou|ili c Henry Freeman cp John IIenky Ackersonc Anthony Farmer c p m Hester ]iailey, wici. of Peter P. Staats c I 1 Isaac Vredenburgh Catharine Voorhees C j September 25, 1837. David D. Demerest William II. Steele December 3, 1S3T. Kobert Mann Eliza Van Deursen m Isabella Mann John Outcalt Harriet McClelland Ann McClelland Harriet V. Natey Ann Eliza lledden Cheesman Ackennan Maria Bergen c p m Nicholas B. Dehart JoiLS De AVitt Rebecca Hall Getty Hall Nicholas R. Cowenho- ven ni Amanda Fisher Francis C. Manley »«. ) Mary Ann Meyers in ) Phel5e Ann Voorhees . Squire Thompson cp> m, March 3, 1838. Sarah Sillcocks, w. of William L. Crawford CORNKLIU.S E. CkISPELL Joseph A. Cross Maria Nevius, w. of Ditmars Duryea David Neefus c ) Lacomia Lant c J - James Sutphiu AUetta Hall Nicholas Booraem, Jr AViLLiAM Augustus Cor- nell Abel T. Stewart Hannah Conover c p June 2, 1S3S. Majdaline Terhune, w. Abraham Staats Van of Isaac Boice m Neste .lane Cornell, wid. of Mary Van Sickell Cornelius Tenbrook Peter WyckolT c p Lavinia Scott, wid. of Mrs. Judith Johnson C Rev. Richd. V. Day Jane Dumnnt c iii Abraham A. Duraont c I Phebe Dumont c Judith Davis c (Mrs. Mary A. Van Ars- Hector S. Van Buren c I dale, w. of Paul Lew- Jane c f is m r September 1, 1838. Ann Van Sickell Sarah Cory, wid. of William Thompson c Enos Ayres c November 24, 1838. Betty Tunison cpc March 2, 1839. Stephen Voorhees in Mary Ann Kirkpafrick, w. of Rev. S. B. How, D.D. c m, June 1, 1S39. Mary Ann McNair, w. Samuel Hopper of John Jolinson m, Rachel Peack, w. of Jane Voorhees James Esler e Anthony Elmendorf c Mrs. Harriet Plum, w. Maria Walker, w. of of Edwd. Miller c in Cornelius Tunison in ' August 31,18.39. John Johnson m Jane AUetta Degraw C Elizabe th Van Middles - Henry Sodon wortli," W. bl Leffis John Newton Schcltz Applegate m Eliza Degraw c November 30, 1839. Gertrude Ann Merce- Catharine A. Degraw, w. reau in of Joseph S. Suydam c February 29, 1840. Slary Booraem m Matilda Rappleyea m Junk 6, 1840. Peter 0. Buckelew Cornelia C. How ] Mary Ann Thompson cp Samuel Naylor c ] Ephraim E. Dk Puy c Skptember 5, 1840. AlMgal Eliza Post in Sarah Booraem Philip Van Arsdalen December, 1840. Ida, w. of Henry Van John Compton c ) Arsdalen Syche Van Liew c f Ann Duryea, w. of Jas. Wni. E. Turner c Barcalow Sarah Van Arsdalen, Abigal D. Wyckoff wid. of Richd. Van Jacob Outcalt in. Nostrand c in Margaret Cassiday March 6, 1841. Garret S. AVycoff m \ Huldah Matilda Car- EUenor Outcalt ) man in Lucy Miller cp Samuel W. Mills o Robert Clelaud June 5, 1841. Chas. R. Von Romondt Ruth Compton James H. Fonda Abigal Vroom, w. of Dianah Johnson c p Coi\ Suydam c September 4, 1841. John Pierman ) Joana Memory c p Ida Van Arsdalen ( Rosana Wyckoff cp Mrs. Zilpah Van Arsda- Mary W. Van Arsda- len c len c Catharine AVycoff c j) e December 4, 1841. Cornelius Suydam William H. Van Nort- William Sunderland c \ wick Leah Powelson c ) March 5, 1842. William Van Ilorne AVilliam D. Buckelew Sarah Jobs Elizabeth Gibson, w. of Sarah Mercereau m Thos. Hopper Lavinia Sutphin, wid. Rebecca Van Nortwick, of Garret Breese w. of .\hin. Oakey Johnson Owens Mrs. Nighmaster c May 28, 1842. Anna Beekman Matthew E. Bergen c Mary Jane Dunn m Mary Parsells Catliarinc Van Derbilt, Catharine Henry, w. of w. of John AV. Ber- Jas. Fisher, Jr gen Mary Morfit cp m, Nelly Van Liew, wid. of Mary Skillman c p C Jonathan Smith c A. Bruyn Hasbrouck C \ James M. Compton c Julia F. Ludlam c j Bergen H. Van Fleet c September 3, 1842. William Nelson Jine Ann Nelson m Mary Conover c p John Henry Stagg | AVilliam T. Runk c Sarah Slryker j Adaline S. Nelson m December 3, 1842. Abraham V. Wyckoff Authur B. Sullivan c Mary B. Dodd c Ann B. Hoagland c in March 11, 1&13. Paulus Ellen, wid. of Jane Eliza Sillcocks Dr. Launy Nancy Stevens cj> Jn Isaac Voorhees m Margaret Sullivan c Catharine Stothoff, w. of Posvell Dehart c APPENDIX. 219 Ji'NB 3, 1S43. .Tolm G. Fisher Cmnellus Van Sickle J.\Miis B. Wilson Edwanl M. Vooi-tiees Eliza Bowne, \v. of C. .lolin Van Nuis, Jr J. Waker m Eliza Harriot, w. of Cor- Mavia VooHiees, wirt. nelius Powelson m of Frederick Outcalt. Ulatilda Montfort Susan Voorliees Margaretta Van Dyke Jane Vnorliees Catliarine Jane IManley Saralx C. Ackerman Wi ^Catliarine Ann Manley Virginia Plum Peter V. WyckoDT c m | Mrs. Sarali Paynter Eliza Williamson c in ) Catharine Maria Payn- ; ter September 2, 1343. William Wahlron Benjamin V. Ackeman Martha Bell, \\. of .lohn m Van Nostrand c m Dkcember 2, 1S43. Hannah Van Sickell, Lucy Van Dyke c 7> «■. of Joseph Brower Catharine Maria Payn- Sarali Paynter e ter c M.\RCH 2, 1S44. Gertrude Solomon Louisa Johnson Mary Elizabeth Solo- Catharine Van .\rsdalen mon Marfjaret S. Elniendorf Peter Z. Elmendorf c \ Elizabeth ElmenUorf ULtria Van Vechten c ) Mat 31, 1844. Garretta Cowenhoven Catharine Ann Powel- VI son Catharine Cowenhoven Hannah C. Cnrwin, w. of Margaret McDougal, w. Stephen Voorheea in of John Powelson Sarah llaitoufrh, wid. of John C. Elmendoi-f John P. Hall Gai-eta Vroora, wid. of Mrs. Margaret Nevius c Peter Nevius Ellen Nevins a AcGCST 81, 1S44. Lydia Van Dyke November 30, 1S44. Sarah JIar?h cp Sophia Fisher, w. of Jo- Martha Beekman, w. seph A. Beaver of John Vail Dyke March 1, 1S45. Henry H. Booraem m I Betsey Simpson c p m Maria Van Liew m C Margaret Elizabeth Eichinan, w. of Peter A. Van Deventer m September 6, 1S45. Douglas Smith Sarah AVyckofTDay m Joanna Voorliees, w. of Jane Boice AVilliam Nelson in Grace Hudson, wid. of Isaac Van Arsdale c Horace Kiley DECE.MBKR 6, 1S45. Ebenezor Poor Elizabeth Cortelyou, w. Jane Helena Manley of John Ackerman C7« Joanna Dehart, w. of John Meserole ni February 20, 1S46. Clarissa M. Gray m Sarah Ford, w. of Staats Clark Ji-.\B 6, 1S46. James S. Taylor c \_ Hannah Voorhecs o Ellen c ) Ann Eliza Danberry, w of John Nafey c m September 5, 1846. Stephen J. Voorliees Elizabeth Harriott, w. of Lewis H. TerrlU c m. December 5, 1S46. James Conover Lavinia Jackson, w. of Josepli Zibrislde m March (!, 1S47. Ann Van Nostrand Elizabeth V. N. Van Martjart Fisher, w. of Derripe Squire Thompson Oft Afe Brown c p c October 2, 1S47. Susan Mary Provost Mary Cowenhoven Slaria Buckelew, w. of David Cole c" I Peter W. Van Liew m Abigal D. WyckoIT c \ Cornelia PoUiemus C Abi^al Davison, w. of Ellen Polhemus c Jacob Sillcocks C Joseph Francis c ] Sarah Ann c f December 4, 184T. Azariah D. Hall Henrietta Thompson Nancy, w. of John H. Hooker c March 3, 1S4S. Thomas McCarty Martha V. Wilson c Sarah Garretson, wid. of Polhemus c June 3, 1S4S. John N. Jansen Ralph G. Voorhees Margaret Denton Cor- Wm. H. Ten Evck C nell, w. of John Bor- Catharine Ten Broeck, dine ni, wid. of David GuUck Alfred W. Mayo c ) Nancy Gulick Matilda Errickson c ) September 2, 1848. Elilabeth Van Sickel, Hannah Hunt, w. of w. of Ralph Van Nos- Thomas Bergen C p strand December 2, 1S48. Jane Combs Ackerman Ifenry K. How C m Mary Smith Ackerman Emma C, w. of J. V. Piter Elnieniiorf c Spader c m Judith Johnson c Kiosen T. B. Spader CJW I-ouisa Jackson c Jane Metlar, wid. of Henry V. D. Voorhees C James Van Deventer C Amelia A. Letsoa March 3, 1849. Mary Ann Collins Emma Schcnck Catharine Brown Oak- James Waldron c p C ey Jl-ne 2, lS4n. Ann R. Ilolhert, w. of Pheb : Pearsall, w. of Ira C, Voorhees w Jarvis Wanser m September 1, 1849. Mrs. Hannah Schanckc Theresa Schanck c ?n December 1, 1849. Caroline H. Hasbrouck David Julian o Samuel R. Walker Jane G. Gulick BlARcn 2. 1850. Garrendeanah French, John V. A. Parsell w. of Peter ,S. Voor- Jlrs. Sbadrack bees m Ann Wyckoff, wid. of Henrietta Suydam, w. Abel Sammis of Robert Van Nuis George Neefus }ii John Roberts JiSE 1, ISoa Mary Ann Rappleyea, AbHy Ann Coddlngton wid. of Nicholas Ltf- Philip Kirheck ferts Abraham B. I'erleo Matilda Rappleyea 220 APPENDIX. August SI, 1S50. Martin Neviiis ??i 1 Rovine Moore Dehart 7«. S-.irah Ann A'an Do- V Peter Wortiiian c [ ren m ) Maria Cortelyou c j November 30, 1850. P.avali A'onrliees Eliza Sehenck Sarah Cnnnver, w. of George Ackerman .Tacob Van Dyke Matilda Van Liew, wid. WiLLlAji W. LicTSOS ofDanielDisboroushc !Mary S. Ilillyer c in Cath. Disborough c m March 1, 1S51. .Tolm Clark, Jr. Sylia B. Hooker, w. of Sarah A. Hooker Joseph A. Beavers Catharine V. Thomp- Mary Ann Hooker son c M.*.T 31, 1851. Cornelia J. StuUs Cornelius Cornell c Louisa Booraem, wid. Mrs. Margaret Smith c of Rev. Jacob Book- Abraham B. Perlee c staver c m Diana Voorhees cp C September 6, 1S51. Jane E. Parsell m Frederick Van Dyke Rosina Neefus, w. of Rensellear Bailey j_ Henry Lyle c Eliza AVestervelt c j December 6, 1851. David Coddington in Hannah Kershow cp Jehoiakim Ilartough March 6, 1852. Henry Sodon Enos A. Skillman m Cornelius Van Der-") Sarah Ann Morren, w. bilt I of James Conover m Kosanna__Elizabetli ( Sarah Jane Smith, w. of » IMlTfron m^ J George Neefus Abby ICliza Biickelew Catharine Egerton m Harriet Ann Voorhees m May 28, 1852. Abby Ann Bush, w. of Alletta Jane Flagg, wid Henry Smith m of Isaac V. Van Doren Delilah Dunn, w. of m John Anderson c m Myndert W. 'VViUon c I Cornelia I'olhemus c Elizabeth W. c ) September 3, 1852. Sophia Van Doren, wid. Mrs. Nancy Jennings C of Staats Van Deur- Maria Reeves, w. of T. sen R. Xhomjison c p December 3, 1852. Augustus Voorh-es m Charles C. Guldin c Sarah F. Voorhees Ann Elizabeth Letson Elizabeth B. Codding- Alice S. French in ton Mary B. Eichman m Ann Letson, \v. of John Fannie A. Price, w. of Van Deventer rn J. V. A. Parseil ni March 4, 1853. Ira C. Voorhees m Mary Ann Boyd Catharine L. McDo- Mary Elizabeth Hoag- weli, w. of Israel IL land m Voorhees in Catharine Mary Cast- Jane Ann Ackerman ner, w. of J. V. L. Mary Louisa Bergen m Uoagland c m John Bergen in Ju.NE 3, 1853. Sarah Uoagland Jane Ditmars cp c Maria Voorhees, w. of James Garretson, Jr. m Augustus Voorhees Anna E. Woriniaa in Susan Veghte c SEPTE.MBER 3, 1853. Margaret Miller, w. of William G. Soliultz c | ■\Villiam Timmons c Margaret Voorhees c j" m December 3, 1853. Isaac Sillcocks in \ James P. Sillcocks m \ R'lsinaRunyonm ( Cornelia Sedam )/i f Ellen Sedam, w. of Jo- Sarah Augusta Van Ars- nalhan Connet m dale March 3, 1S54. Almira Nevius Moses A'oorhees C n C Alfred B. Van Dehoef June 2, 1854. Jonathan B. Connettw Jane Maria Powelson Lydia A. Yates llosannaRandolph cp m Mrs. Sarah Paynter c March 9, 1855. Robert R.^lston Proud- Alexander Proudfit FIT Christiana Voorhees, w. Sarah Maria Outcalt of John Van Norden Mary Ann Outcalt, w. in of Peter J. Gulick William Irvin c Peter J. Gulick c Strah Ann Nevius C Agnes McDowell, w. of Elizabeth Jane Nevius c Sam. Applegate c in John D. Neefus c Mary Ann Van Do ren c June 8, 1855. Jane Connett, w. of JaneSchanck. w. of Levi James H. Sillcocks m, K. Scheack August 31, 1855. Abraham A. Voorhees Mary Brunson in Sarah Lefferts, w. of Adaline Dehart in Henry L. Stebbins c November 30, 1855. Letitia Brunson Jane Eoice e in Anna Coddington, wid. of George Boice c in February 29, 1856. David Nevius, Sen. Emma Candice c p May so, 1856. Nathaniel II. Van Catharine Ann Berrian, Arsdale w. of John Conover Dinah Conover cp Sarah Garretson, wid. of Sarah Hoagland, wid. Isaac Polhemus c in of E. Johnson c m Magdalene Boice c September 5, 1856. Charles Dunham Tunis Q. Hall c in ) Deborah Ann King, w. Susan L. Sunderland v Abraham Blew c C m ) Sarah Elizabeth Sill- cocks December 5, 1856. Catharine Cortelyou, Ellen Polhemus, wid. wid. of Thomas Bell of Thomas Skillman, Jane Powelson, w. of M.D. c m Edward Christopher February 27, 1857. Eleanor Nelson in Harriet M. Messier Nancy Smith c p c Dinah Smith c June 5, 1S57. James II. Sillcocks in Wilhelina V. Hoagland APPENDIX. 221 SitPTEMBER 4, 1S57. Wizabeth Rausch in December 4, 1S57. John II. Ilnoker Emily 0. Hooker m Elmiia Bullin;in, w. of H. C. Hooker March 5, 1S5S. Adaline Van Derbilt ??i Parah M. Dehart m Kliza Ann Gordon ?)i Helen Thompson ni Abby Kliza Gordon m Deborah P. I'rovost Cornelia H. Gordon Ann Matilda, w. of T. Mary Jane lloagland m W. V. P. Mercereau Mrs. Sarah Ann Sill- Peter V. C. Siiydam | cocks, \v. of Benja- Sarah A. Sperling j" rain Kurinan Margaret Lott c in John S. Dehart m Kachel Van Doren c p C George V. Smith m Peter Melvin Gordon m .1. Baay c June 4, 1858. Ida Maria Nelson m Anna Maria Skillman m Kliza Jane Bodine Margaret Hyder, w. of John Ackerman m Mary Elizabeth M'y- ckoff m Augusta McDonald in Edward F. liandolph I m V Caroline Remsen ) John Van Arsdale Henry V. D. Schenk Richard Garretson Maria Elizabeth, wid. of Dr. G. A. Van Dykec Sarah Hoagland Abby Freeman, wid. of Job AVells m Rachel Francis, w. of Thomas IJuick c Sarah L. Cowenhoven m Abbie Louisa Jenkins »i Jane Maria Jenkins, w. of John Y. Brokaw Lucretia Ann WyckofT, w. of Edward Tunison m Hannah A. Fisher m Ge'.ty Ann Manley, w. of Matthew E. Bergen m Elizabeth Smith, w. of John Verbi'ycke m George Buttler in Rynear V. N. Quick Gilberts. Van Pcltwi Henry H. Van Am- burgh m Morel Dunham e ) Liicinda c ) Abby M. Miller m RiciiAKD M. Whitbeck September 3, 1S58. Jane Bergen, wid. of Ezekial A'unk m Simon Hillyer Ann Louisa Hoagland Maria Hill.ver, wid. of m Stephen J. Emmans Julia Alletta Van Do- Maria Louisa Van Tiue ren in December 3, 1858. Ann Eliza Booraera, w. Ann Van Liew c of John Van Arsdale Helen Nafey in m Jane Van Nostrand, w. William E. S. Dehart 9?i of Andrew Ten Eyck EUoner Ten Broeck in Skillman, wid. of I'e- John U. Tapping m tor Van Tiue m March 4, 1S59. Mary Ann Cowenhoven Andrew Ten Eyck m Anna Matilda Bogert John S. Uutcult m Jc.VK 17, 18.19. Caroline S. Van Neste Hannah Francis c m Matthew E. Bergen c m September 2, 1859. Elizabeth Nevins Christiana Manninff, w. of John T. Jenkins w Dkcemder 2, 1S59. Martha V. AVilson c John Beokman cm } Richard M. Beekman Sarah E. Manley c W ) c m Nathaniel Scudder c p March 3, 1S60. Charles A. Richmond 7?i Elizabeth Smith, w. of James Henry Titus c p Duncan McNair m Jl'NK 1, ISGO. Abraham P. Provost m William Whyte Eliza W., wid. of Cor- Adam Lutz c wi nelius Shaddle August 31, 1860. Margaret McNair m Jacob D. Wycko ff Mary A. Marshall, w. of Henry V. D. Schenk c December 1, ISGO. Phebe, wid. of Michael Julia Smith, w. of Re Nevius c m 'William Cornell Matilda Nevius, c m Sarah M. Nevius c m March 1, 1861. Lydia D. Shotwell, w. Maria L. Schenck, w. of A. M. Gordon »i of Isaac V. D. Wil Mary Alletta AVortman liamson c in cp c August 31, 1S61. Helena V. Bergen, w. of Henry D. Bergen C m November 29, 1801. V. M. WyckoIT Suydam m Februart 28, 1SC2. Runyon R. Outcalt m May 80, 1SG2. Ann Crooks McNair Ann Disborough m Sarah M. Disborough, ■\Villlam H. Van Liew w. of David M. Bo- cp in gart in December 5, 1862. Mary Ann Buckelew, Richard M. Plumb 1 w. of George \Y. ley c V Schenck Sarah Doremus c J Mrs. Elnora, w. of Rev. Amelia P. Berg c tn J. F. Berg, D.D. c in Ilermaa C. Berg c in Anna F. Bsrg c Junk 5, 1863. Abigal D. Wyckoff, w. Mary Elizabeth Cole c of Rev. David Cole c September 4, 1S63. Jane II. Manley, wid. of Sarah Maria Clark m I A. S. Bevier c December 11, 18G3. Josephine Nevius m John V. M. Wyckoff 1 Fannie H., w. of Rev. cm > R. H. Steele c in Anna Walters c ) Lizzie T. Kelley, w. of Margaretta F. Clarke m H. H. Van Am- burgh c in 222 APPE]S"DIX. March 4, 1804. Cornelius L. Emmons m Cljailes M. Webber wi I Sarah M. Bergen tn f Sarah Agnes Booksta- ver Klizabeth Miller m Mary lli;.'gins, \v. of Hrnry Hoaglanfi c ni Adaline W. Uoagland c m Mary Williamson, w. of Jolin IJrunson c m Annie H. Foster, w. of T. B. Boomem c m Martha B. Van Nos- trand, c m John Brunson m Mary Klizabetli Frank- en, w. of K. T. B. Spa- der }>i Elizabeth Van Nostrand Eliza Evans Voorheesw. Ann Lott, w. of John EUlert c Maria Nicrhmaster, w. of J. G. I'aylor c Sarah L. Uoagland c m Letitia Brunson, wid. of Abraham Suydam c»n Emily Barker, w. of Abraham V. Schenck c m Junes, 1SC4. Catliarine Farmer, w. of Peter Cornell m Susan D. Nevius m Jane A. WyckolT m Cassie Wy tkofl' m Cornelia A'oorliees in Louisa Augusta Apple- gate 111 Ellen S. Clark m John B. Stryker c ) Jane Van Tine c ) Ellen Ann Nevius, \r. of E. V. T. Brunson m Mrs. Martha J., w. of J. S. Deliart c in Abraham S. Johnson J m V Almira J. Meyer m ) Jemima M. Mauley m Abigal Maria Dehart w Sarah Johnson m Sarah S Voorhees m. Abraham Blew Isaac Covert c m ( Kachel Ann Smith c m f Mrs. Harr let Wyckoff c Mrs. Caroline, w. of Otis D. Stewart cm Amanda Stewart m Septe.mber 2, 1S64. Rebecca Packer, \y. of Oscar Johnson Jr. c m AVilliam Maloy m Margaret 'I'iinmons, w. Garret I'ulhemus c in ) ol Cornelius Uoagland Ciirnla. U. Gordon cm j m Eliza S.Schenck. will, of Sarah A. Van Ar.dale, Edward Manning m w. of Smith m Dece.mbeu 1, 1864. Margaret C. Sillcocks Martha F. Ilanlen jn in Peter Brunson in Samuel S. Van Anglenjw Abigal Voorhees, w. of Miss Ilattie A. Fo.-.ter c N. B. Dehart c in Maiich 2, 1804. I.rf;titia Van Arsdale m Cornelia Smock, w. of Sarah Hoagland m Robert Rowland m Wary P. Spangler, w. of Mary Jane, w. of Edwin Thomas M. Letson c Stewart c m JUKK 1, 1SG5. Sarah S. Bergen m, Amelia Brunson m Margaret J.lieekmanm Ellen V. Manlev, w. of Joanna Brunson m Rev. Cornelius Wy- Jane Elizabeth Wy- ckoff c ckoff m, Adgcst 31, 1805. Mary Connett m Matilda S. Hall m John C. IJall m Mrs. Mary Latcher, w. Abigal M.. w. of Henry of Adam Lutz m M. Price m November 30, 1865. Catharine L. Van Nuis, Mary B. Remsen w. of J. V. 1£, Van Ellen Louisa AVyckofif Cleef m, Anna C. Beekman m Nicholas W. Parsell in Jane D. Van Arsdale m James McNair in Ellen Wyckoff, w. of J. V. N. Garretson c rn Catharine Eliza Stry- ker, w. of Josiah Schenck c nx March 1, 1SG6. Ruth V. Rerdine in Peter R. Boice c m ] John Van Nuis, Sr. m Sarah S. Schenck c?;i f 0. A. Kibbey cwi | Ferdinand F. Cortel-") Catharine Stryker COT )' you c ?« 1 James W. Van Liew c Margaret G. Harriet / John K. Cortelyou p?» cm J Martha Elizabeth Man- ley m, May 31, ISCG. Mrs. Elizabeth C. War- Ella Garretson m »er m James C. Garretson m Mattie !\I. Garretson m AVilliam Sl?i Silas W. Sillcocks m Jacob W SchencJc ?/l Cliauncey 1'. Wheeler wi r.achel F. Dunham m Anna Smith c ni i;eitrude lieekman, w. Harriet (ioddard, w. of of Benjamin Smith c John K. DelMott c m m Mary F. Outcalt c p m Mary Jane Van Deur- . sen c m ArcrsT29, 1SG7. Catharine Ann Outcalt, Annie II. Billis, w. of w. of Abraliam P. Richard D. Fislier c Hi Provost m Gertrude F. Fislier, w. ICate Suydam in of J. C. Scott c m Annie B. Schenckwi Eli/.a F. 'WiHiams, w. of Sarah P. Manley c in AVilliaui F. De Hart ni Sarah Ann Manley, w. Hannah, wid. of Wm. of Solomon Painter McDonald C m Hannah M. Byram, w. of Rev. A. McKelvey C m November 29, 1SC7. Sarah French, w. of Clara A. Jones m Peter J. Suydara m Jeremiah V. D. Stryker Majrsie H. Suydam vi m Mary Jane Suydam m Sarah A. Seholield c m Henrietta Suydam m y i^^ ^^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 207 112 5. f :.-■ -■■•?::' '7^'''-'': ', I.:';'. ■;.:..: ■ n "* •.■■■•.)u.:",.',','%" ■..;•;;■ ■ ^..'^ " ■?:;:;r::i;f , '.i. 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