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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02998 2631
Gc 974.902 N42da Davidson, Robert, 1808-1876. A historical sketch of the First Presbyterian Church
ENGRAVED BY JOHN SARTAIN.
REV. GILBERT TENNENT.
A
HISTORICAL SKETCH
OF THE
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
IN THE
CITY OF NEW - BRUNSWICK;
READ BEFORE THE
Historical Boriety of New-Jersey,
SEPTEMBER 8th, 1852,
BY ROBERT DAVIDSON, D. D. PASTOR OF SAID CHURCH.
PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J. PRESS OF J. TERHUNE & SON, 31 ALBANY STREET. MDCCCLII.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO SA 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
A HISTORICAL SKETCH, &c.
The exact date when the Presbyterians of New Bruns- wick wereorganized into a church is not known, owing to the want of early records. The place itself was not of much size or importance until some time after the commencement of the last century. Originally a mere ferry across the Raritan river, settlers gradually collected in sufficient num- bers to form a town. But the settlement was long known only as " Prigmore's Swamp, or as " The River," until the accession of the house of Brunswick to the British crown in 1714, after which time the loyalty of the inhabitants would seem to have conferred upon the rising town the name of New Brunswick.
The first inhabitants were of Dutch extraction, and had a church of 78 members in 1717. The Presbyterians were very few, and with the help of the Landing and vicinity, constituted a church for worship in the English language. The number of communicants is not known. The earliest mention of their existence is about 1726, when they called Mr. Tennent to be their pastor. They had a house of wor- ship, built in 1727, situated on Burnet street, below Lyell's brook, which is now considered as quite down town; but in vain will the eye search for it now. The building was destroyed by the British in the Revolutionary War, and the site is now occupied by dwelling houses.
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Cornelius Hardenberg, Esq. has informed me of a tradi- tion in his family, that one of the early founders of the Presbyterian church in New Brunswick, was James Hude, an ancestor of his and a native of Scotland. James Hude came to America with a number of his compatriots, who fled from religious oppression. The ship Caledonia, which brought them, was lost at Perth Amboy. Mr. Hude was Mayor of New Brunswick, and Member of Council under one of the royal governors. He resided in the house now the Bell Tavern. It was a one story stone house, which was afterwards raised a story, and the whole was weather- boarded over.
The congregation was connected first with the Presbyt- ery of Philadelphia ; in 1733 with that of East Jersey. In 1738 the Presbyteries of East Jersey and Long Island were merged in the Presbytery of New York, and two days after, the Presbytery of New Brunswick was set off from that of New York. (See Min. of Syn. Phila.)
In the close of the year 1726, or beginning of the year 1727, the Rev. Gilbert Tennent was ordained Pastor of this congregation. The map published by Messrs. Marcellus, Terhune & Letson, states this event to have occurred in 1726. Mr. Tennent's name is found on the roll of the New Castle Presbytery as a licentiate in 1725; and on the roll of the Synod of Philadelphia as an ordained minister in 1727. He acted as an assistant in the Log College at Neshaminy for some little time, but as this institution was not opened till May, 1726, it is clear that he could not be in New Brunswick much before the close of that year. In a letter written by him to Mr. Prince, dated Aug. 24, 1744, he says, that he came to New Brunswick about seven years after Mr. Frelinghuysen, and as Mr. Frelinghuysen settled there in 1720, Mr. Tennent's arrival must have been as we have stated.
The tablet on the front of the present house of worship recites that "The first Presbyterian church edifice in
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New Brunswick was erected on Burnet street, A. D. MDCCXXVII."
Gilbert Tennent was a noticeable man in his day. He was a member of a remarkable family, a companion of Whitefield, a leader in the Great Schism, and a voluminous writer.
His father was the Rev. William Tennent, Sen., an Irish clergyman of the established church, who emigrated to this country about the year 1716, and who, from conscientious scruples renounced his former ecclesiastical connection, and joined the Presbyterian body in 1718. He was a man of learning, piety and zeal ; and did good service to the church by founding a classical school, called in derision the Log College, at Neshaminy, in Pennsylvania. He died at the age of 73, May 6, 1746.
The elder Tennent had five children, four of whom were sons, and all the four entered the sacred ministry, Gilbert, William, John and Charles. William was settled at Free- hold, and is the person who had a remarkable trance, on his recovery from which he was found to have forgotten the bible, and even his letters. This trance occurred in the house of his brother Gilbert, in New Brunswick, whither he had gone for aid in his theological studies. The house has since been pulled down, but the site pointed out by tra- dition is that at present occupied by the building, number 168, in Burnet street.
Gilbert, the oldest of the four sons, was born in Ireland, at Armagh, April 5, 1703, and was consequently 13 years of age when he was brought to America. His education was conducted altogether under his father's eye, and his subse- quent standing did credit to his training. His mind was turned to religion when he was 14 years old, and the piety which was so early sown, ripened with his growth ; and at 22 he was licensed to preach the gospel. After assisting his father in his school for a few months, he was ordained pastor of the congregation at New Brunswick, in 1726,
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where he continued for 16 years. He was now a young man of 23, possessed of a strong mind, an ardent, impetu- ous disposition, and brimming with zeal. Such a man would have been a man of mark any where. He soon made an impression in New Brunswick. But it will be best to let him narrate the tale in his own words. Writing to Mr. Prince, a clergyman and historian of Boston, in 1744, he speaks as follows :
" The labours of the Rev. Mr. Frelinghuysen, a Dutch Calvinist minister, were much blessed to the 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 ministry : divers of his hearers with whom I had the opportunity of conversing, appeared to be converted per- sons, by their soundness in principle, Christian experience, and pious practice, and these persons declared, that the ministrations of the aforesaid gentlemen were the means thereof. This, together with a kind letter which he sent me, respecting 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 labours. «-I began to be very much distressed about my want of success ; for I knew not for half a year or more after I came to New Brunswick, that any one was converted by my labours ; although several persons were affected transiently. It pleased God, about that time, to afflict me with sickness, by which I had affecting views of eternity.
After I was raised up to health, I examined many about the grounds of their hope of salvation, which I found in most to be nothing but as the sand. With such I was ena- bled to deal faithfully and earnestly, in warning them of their danger, and urging them to seek converting grace. By this method many were awakened out of their security, and of these, divers were to all appearance effectually con-
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verted ; but some that I spoke plainly to were prejudiced. And here I would have it observed, that as soon as an effectual door was opened, I found many adversaries, and my character was covered with unjust reproaches, which through divine goodness did not discourage me in my work. I did then preach much on original sin, repentance, the na- ture and necessity of conversion, in a close, examinatory, and distinguishing way ; labouring, in the mean time, to sound the trumpet of God's judgments, and alarm the secure by the terrors of the Lord, as well as to affect them with other topics of persuasion : which method was sealed by the Holy Spirit, in the conviction and conversion of a consid- erable number of persons, at various times, and in different places, in this part of the country, as appeared by their ac- quaintance with experimental religion, and good conversa- tion.
"I may further observe, that frequently at sacramental seasons, in New Brunswick, there have been signal displays of the divine power and presence. Divers have been con- vinced of sin, by the sermons there preached, some con- verted, and many affected with the love of God in Jesus Christ. O the sweet meltings that I have seen on such occasions, among many ! New Brunswick did then look like a field the Lord had blessed. It was like a little Jeru- salem, to which the scattered tribes with eager haste repaired at sacramental solemnities ; and there they fed on the fat- ness of God's house, and drank of the rivers of his pleas- ures. But alas! the scene is now altered. While I lived in the place aforesaid, I do not remember that there was any great ingathering of souls at any one time ; but, through mercy, there were frequently gleanings of a few here and there, which in the whole were a considerable number. But never having taken a written account of them, I cannot offer any precise conjecture at their number, I shall there- fore leave it to be determined at the judgment day. . . During the late revival of religion, [i. e. about 1740,] New
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Brunswick felt some drops of the spreading rain, but no general shower."*
In the year 1739 thecelebrated George Whitefield visited the Jerseys, and made the acquaintance of Gilbert Tennent. 'There are several entries in his journal respecting New Brunswick. His first visit to the place was on Tues- day, Nov. 13, on his way from Trent Town. "Here," says he, " we were much refreshed with the company of Mr. Gilbert Tennent, an eminent Dissentingt Minister about forty years of age, son to that good old man who came to see me on Saturday at Philadelphia. God I find has been pleased greatly to own his labours. He and his' associates are now the burning and shining lights of this part of Amer- ica. He recounted to me many remarkable effusions of the Blessed Spirit which have been sent down amongst them ; and one may judge of their being true, faithful soldiers of Jesus Christ, because they are every where spoken evil of. Several pious souls came to see me at his house, with whom I took sweet counsel. At their request, and finding there was a general expectation of hearing me, I read the Church liturgy, and preached in the evening at Mr. Tennent's meet- ing house. For there is no place set apart for the worship of the Church of England.# At my first getting up I was somewhat weak and low, but God renewed my strength, and enabled me to speak with freedom and power." Jour- nal, p. 273,
On the 20th, he returned, and "preached about noon, for near two hours in Mr. Tennent's meeting-house, to a large
*Log College, pp. 99-103.
+Mr. Whitefield lived and died int he communion of the church of England ; his language, therefore, without the slightest intentional offence, was tinged by his English habits. The term Dissenter was originally given, and is still appli- cable, only to such as quitted the English Establishment. Mr. Whitefield, being little of a polemic, did not advert to the impropriety of applying it to one who derived his orders through the Established Church of Scotland.
#Christ church was not founded till 1743, four years afterwards.
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assembly gathered from all parts." At 3, and at 7 P. M. he preached again, in the evening baptizing two children. Among his hearers was the Dutch minister, Mr. Freling- huysen, "pastor of a congregation about four miles off." Mr. Whitefield speaks highly in his praise, and greatly en- joyed his society, and that of "many other disciples of our dear Lord Jesus." Journal, p. 277.
It was not till Saturday, April 26, 1740, that he again passed through New Brunswick. "Reached thither," he writes, "by four in the afternoon, and preached to about 2000 hearers in the evening. Many were affected." The next day, Saturday, he continues, "preached morning and evening to near 7 or 8000 people: And God's power was so much amongst us in the afternoon sermon, that had I pro- ceeded, the cries and groans of the people, I believe, would have drowned my voice. One woman was struck down, and at night another woman came to me under strong con- vulsions. She told me she had often been somewhat moved ; but now she hoped God had struck her home. She cried out, I can see nothing but Hell !- Oh that all," he subjoins, were in as good a way to Heaven !" Journal, p. 346.
Mr. Whitefield visited New Brunswick once more, and for the last time, on his return from his tour through New England, Friday, Nov. 6, 1840. Here he preached for Gil- bert in the evening, and met William Tennent the next day, " whom," says he, " I wanted to consult about his brother Gilbert's going to Boston, in order to help in carrying on the work of God in New England. After prayer, and some arguments pro and con, we thought it the best that Mr. Gil- bert Tennent should go to Boston. He (diffident of him- self) was at first unwilling, urging his inability, but after- wards he said, " The will of the Lord be done." With him also Mr. R -- s was to go, a young minister, one of the tutors of Cambridge College, whom I brought with a view that he should return with Mr. Tennent. God has been pleased to work upon his heart; and I cannot but think he
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will be a burning and a shining light. It being the last time we should be together for a long season, we thought it best to spend some time in prayer. Mr. Gilbert Tennent was our mouth to God. Many were greatly affected. About 1.1 o'clock we parted in tears, but with a full assurance that we should see and hear of great things before we saw each other again. Even so, Lord Jesus ! Amen." Journal, p. 426.
Mr. Whitefield had a very high regard for Gilbert Ten- nent. In some respects he was a preacher after his own heart, full of fire and earnestness. "Then I went to the meeting house," he writes in his journal of Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1739, having arrived from New Brunswick in New York, " but never before heard I such a searching sermon. He went to the bottom indeed, and did not daub with un- tempered mortar. He convinced me more and more that we can preach the gospel of Christ no further than we have experienced the power of it in our own heart : Being deeply convicted of sin, and driven from time to time off his false bottom and dependencies, by God's Holy Spirit at his first conversion, he has learned experimentally to dissect the heart of the natural man. Hypocrites must either soon be con- verted or enraged at his preaching: He is a son of Thun- der, and I find doth not fear the faces of men." Journal, p. 275.
The late venerable Dr. Cannon communicated to me the following particulars concerning Mr. Whitefield's visit to New Brunswick, which he himself obtained from old per- sons who were present. Although, as appears from his journal, Mr. Whitefield preached repeatedly in Mr. Ten- nent's church, there must have been other occasions when he preached in the open air. He himself mentions one au- dience of 2000 people, and again of $000. It was one of these times when he preached in the open air in front of the Dutch church, standing on a wagon. The interior of the house was filled with females. The men stood on what was then a meadow sloping down to the river. 8000 persons
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were present. No traditions are preserved of his preaching except that he did good. Mr. Reed of Bound Brook, Mr. Kennedy of Baskingridge, and others, were favorers, and stirred up their people to go and hear him. The Rev. Mr. Frelinghuysen was also among his hearers and friends. Mr. Whitefield's style was described as colloquial, and his exordium tame, but his preaching was a succession of bursts, aided by a voice of uncommon compass penetrating to the very soul. Before the hearer was aware, he found him- self completely in his power.
×
Mr. Tennent's pulpit talents were of a high order. He was a strong thinker, his descriptions were vivid, his appeals scathing, his epithets uncompromising. His stature was tall, his appearance venerable, and his voice commanding. . He wore a loose great coat confined round the waist by a leath- ern girdle, and this custom, joined to his unsparing denun- ciations, reminded his hearers of the simple manners of John the Baptist, rebuking the hypocrites of his day." The bold- ness of his zeal, and the uncharitableness of his invectives against all who favored not his ardent measures, at length provoked a serious rupture,* and the Presbyterian clergy found themselves ranged in conflicting ranks, called Old Side and New Side, according as they attached most conse. quence to learning or to vital piety in the ministry. An open Schism took place in 1741, and lasted till 1758, seven- teen years, when a reunion was affected. The difficulties originated in the contumacious resistance of the recently erected Presbytery of New Brunswickt to Synodical autho-
*Dr. Hodge states, that " Mr. Tennent was so completely the soul of the party to which he belonged, that without him it never would have existed. He is often, therefore, addressed as the party itself, and his writings and declara - tions are referred to as speaking the language of his associates." Const. Hist. vol. ii. p. 161.
+The first meeting was in New Brunswick, Aug. 8, 1738. Gilbert Tennent, as the oldest minister, preached' the sermon, and was chosen Moderator. He was reelected ten or a dozen times afterwards. Min. vol. i. p. 1, 2.
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rity ; and Mr. Tennent's congregation adhered to him in the separation. It is due to his memory to add, that he lived to regret and to abandon the vituperative strain in which he once indulged, and bent all his efforts to bring about the reunion of the Old and New Side parties.
In 1743, Mr. Tennent was urgently invited to build up the Second church in Philadelphia, and considered it his duty to go, notwithstanding the opposition of the people of New Brunswick. The affair was brought before the Pres- bytery for their decision, whereupon, after devoting a day to the subject, they granted permission, in the following minute. "The Presbytery, after considerable consultation and reasoning upon it, Resolved, to put it to the vote whether Mr. Tennent should be dissolved from his pastoral relation to the congregation of New Brunswick, and remove to Phil- adelphia or not, and considering the dangerous and difficult situation of the congregation of Philadelphia, the paucity of candidates for that place, and Mr. Tennent's own peremp- tory request for a dissolution of his pastoral relation to New Brunswick congregation, with several reasons for his judg- ing it his duty to insist upon being loosed from them : upon these and other considerations, the Presbytery apprehend that his usefulness in this place is in all probability in great measure over, and that there is a prospect of his being more serviceable to the interests of religion in Philadelphia than at New Brunswick, and therefore the vote in relation to his removal was carried in the affirmative."*
Dr. Cannon has informed ·me, however, having himself incidentally learned it from Dr. Moses Scott, that Gilbert Tennent was regarded as a proud, austere man, and that he had not the affections of the people in the degree that his brother William had. William was a man of superior tal- ents, and ready at all kinds of meetings. He was settled at Freehold, but was known and beloved as a preacher all over
*Min. Pby. N. B. vol. i. p. 54.
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the country. Gilbert, added Dr. Cannon, did not build up the church greatly, and when he went to Philadelphia, the people were well content that he should go.
Mr. Tennent continued in Philadelphia till his death, which occurred in 1764, in the 62d year of his age. Leav- ing off the practice of extemporaneous speaking, and con- fining himself to written discourses, he lost much of his for- mer power, and his sermons were deficient in animation, whatever they might have gained in correctness. His pub- lished works consisted of a few occasional discourses, three volumes of sermons, and several controversial pamphlets.
After the translation of Mr. Tennent to Philadelphia, the congregation at New Brunswick were a long time without regular ministrations. The map before mentioned says, that " Mr. Tennent was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas Ar- thur ;" but no mention can be found of the fact in the records of the New Brunswick Presbytery. The publishers of the map derived their information from the traditions handed down by the oldest inhabitants. As the map was published in 1829, no persons now survive who have any recollections on the subject, so that every clue is lost. There is indeed one circumstance which faintly indicates the probability of tradition, and in the absence of all testimony to the contrary, may be weighed at its just value. The name of the Rev. Thomas Arthur is found for the first time on the roll of the Synod of New York at their second meeting, in 1746; and for the four following years. In 1751 he is reported as hav- ing deceased since the last meeting of Synod.
If Mr. Arthur had any connection with the congregation of New Brunswick, as tradition has intimated, it must have been of short duration, and an irregular nature. There is no order for his ordination on the books of the Presbytery, nor is his name mentioned in connection with the supply of the church ; whereas afterward there are repeated notices of supplies provided, as will be presently seen. From the silence of the minutes on this point, it may therefore be in-
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ferred, that the pulpit was occupied during all or a part of five years.
It may be pertinently asked, why do not the Sessional Records shed light on this subject? To which we have to make the melancholy reply, that there are no Sessional records extant of a date prior to 1790, nor minutes of the Trustees earlier than 1784. This serious deficiency ham- pers us exceedingly in our attempts to draw up a Historical Sketch ; but an explanation furnished by the Presbytery of New Brunswick may be here appropriately inserted. Some time after the Revolutionary War the General Assembly took measures to secure materials for a Church History. To the request made of them, the Presbytery replied as follows :
" The Presbytery of New Brunswick, considering the high satisfaction and great utility which may be derived from an early publication of the history of the Presbyterian Church in North America, report to the General Assembly, that it is with real regret they are unable to comply at present with the order of the General Assembly, in sending forward ma- terials for said history from all their congregations. The Presbytery inform the General Assembly, that they labour under peculiar difficulties in this respect, from the extent of the ravages of the enemy in the State of New Jersey during the late war. The minutes of the Presbytery have been lost, with the papers of the late Dr. Spencer down to a late date. The different members, except a very few, assure the Presbytery that either through inattention in the first min- isters and congregations, or through the loss of records dur- ing the war, no documents are to be found from which to furnish materials respecting the first formation of congrega- tions, or the early settlement of ministers."*
It may therefore be gathered from this statement, that as the congregation of New Brunswick suffered severely dur- ing the Revolutionary War, their very house of worship
*Min. Pby. N. B. vol. iv. p. 220.
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being destroyed, the absence of documents and records in their case is to be accounted for by the second of the two causes mentioned by the Reverend Presbytery. It could hardly be the first, since immediately on the close of the War, we find no lack of regularly kept books.
The earliest notice we have of the congregation, in the minutes of the Presbytery, is in October, 1760, when Mr. Treat was appointed to supply New Brunswick and Me- tuchin six Sabbaths, and the same the next year. And in May 20, 1761, we find the people of New Brunswick uniting with those of Elizabethtown and Deerfield, in pray- ing leave to call Mr. Kirkpatrick, a minister, says Dr. Hodge, "distinguished for his piety and usefulness."* Mr. Kirk- patrick accordingly was appointed to supply New Brunswick and Metuchin at discretion in that year. Nothing resulted however, as we find Mr. Parkhust afterwards appointed to supply the same places eight sabbaths, the same year.t
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