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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 03020 6244
Gc 974.902 B76f First Presbyterian Church (Bridgeton, N.J. ) A history and hand-book of the First Presbyterian
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historyhandbooko00firs
1792. 1892.
A HISTORY
AND
HAND-BOOK
OF THE
First Presbyterian Church
BRIDGETON, N. J.
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE CONGREGATION.
PHILADELPHIA : ALLEN, LANE & SCOTT, PRINTERS, Nos. 229-231-233 South Fifth Street. 1892.
GEN
1792.
1892.
A HISTORY
AND
HAND-BOOK
OF THE
First Prestufen
BRIDGETON, N. J.
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE CONGREGATION.
PHILADELPHIA : ALLEN, LANE & SCOTT, PRINTERS, Nos. 229-231-233 South Fifth Street. I892.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
-
PAGE History of the Church 5
Sketch of the Sunday-school 28
Roll of Pastors 39
Roll of Ruling Elders
39
Roll of Trustees
41
Present Officers
. 44
Sabbath-school Officers . 45
Pastoral
46
Concerning the Session 46
Concerning the Trustees
47
Church Support
47
Systematic Beneficence
48
Concerning the Objects of Beneficence
49
Order for Baptism of Infants 51
Order for Reception of Members . 54
Missionary and other Societies
. 57
Church Roll .
60
Non-Resident Members
72
Church Directory
73
INTRODUCTORY.
D
A MANUAL of the First Presbyterian Church has not been issued since 1870. The useful purpose served by the little volume put forth at that time might be sufficient justification for the present publication, but there are special reasons for this issue. No full and accurate his- tory of the Presbyterian Church of Bridgeton has yet been printed. Most useful material for such a history is passing away with the flight of time, for much of it is written only in the memory of those who were them- selves a part of the events. If the bones, scattered pro- miscuously in imperfect church records, are ever to be articulated into human form and clothed with flesh it is high time the task were undertaken. There is another call for doing this work now. Presbyterianism in Bridgeton has reached its one hundredth milestone. This is the centennial year. A history of our beginnings, struggles, and progress, always valuable and interesting, ought to prove even inspiring at this moment. It should arouse gratitude for the past and enthusiasm for the great work yet before the Presbyterian Church in Bridgeton. Iner- rancy is not claimed for what is here written ; but great pains have been taken to avoid mistakes. Acknowledg- ment is made of valuable assistance from Judge L. Q. C. Elmer's "History of Cumberland County," Dr. Enoch Fithian's "History of the Greenwich Church," and a ser- mon preached by the Rev. J. Allen Maxwell, D. D., May 2Ist, 1876. Thanks are also due to Mr. Robert B. Pot- ter and others for important suggestions and interesting details.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,
BRIDGETON, N. J.
Prepared by the Pastor, Rev. Sylvester W. Beach.
AS EARLY as 1774 the question of establishing a Presby- terian Church in Bridge Town began to be mooted. The town had a population of about two hundred inhabitants and had been for twenty-three years the county-seat of Cumberland. The nearest Presbyterian Churches were at Fairfield, Greenwich, and Deerfield. An unexecuted will of one Alexander Moore, dated 1770, devised a lot of land on the east side of the Cohansey for a Presby- terian Church and graveyard, with the sum of fifty pounds to aid in building the church. The location was what is now known as the northeast corner of Commerce and Pearl Streets. Claim was made for this bequest about 1774, and supplementary subscriptions were se- cured sufficient to warrant a commencement of the work. An actual beginning was made and stones carted to the spot, but important differences of opinion began to arise among the friends of the project, which led to the abandonment of the chosen site and the suspension of effort for a time. Then, as now, Bridgeton lay on both sides the river, and a somewhat animated rivalry arose
(5)
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as to the respective claims of the east and west sides. All Presbyterians agreed in wanting a church, but they could not agree on the question of location. Dr. John Fithian, living on the south side of what is now known as Broad Street, just above the present residence of Mrs. Charles E. Elmer, offered a lot at what is now the south- east corner of Broad and Giles Streets. Several meet- ings to agree upon a site were held, but without result. There seemed little prospect of an agreement, when other events occurred destined to postpone the whole question for several years. In the spring of 1775 tidings reached our quiet little town that far away at Lexington the first blood had been shed in revolt against British tyranny. At once every other subject became subordinate, and all hearts were fired with patriotic enthusiasm. Military preparations at once began. One company was formed by a young Bridge Town lawyer, Joseph Bloomfield, who afterwards became governor of the State. The militia of the county were led by Colonels Newcomb and Potter. In the midst of all this excitement preaching services were occasionally held in the court-house, but the people generally continued to attend at Greenwich, Fairfield, and Deerfield. But the war passed and victory was won ; and with the return of peace the people settled down again to the ordinray course of life. Very soon the question of a church was resurrected. Happily the old differences had greatly subsided, if they had not entirely disappeared. In 1791, through the influence of Jonathan Elmer, Colonel Potter, and General Giles, one Mark Miller, a Friend, was induced to give a lot for a church and burial-ground at the extreme west end of the town. This lot contained two acres of ground for the uses of a graveyard, with the privilege of building a house of pub- lic worship on it. A public meeting of the inhabitants
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was called to accept this donation, and at that meeting Jonathan Elmer and Eli Elmer were chosen to take a deed of the ground in trust for the uses aforesaid. David Potter and James Giles were afterwards added to the committee, and a deed was executed in the name of these four trustees. In 1792 one-half acre was added to the lot by purchase and in 1794 one-half acre more. Subse- quently additions were made ti'l now the burying ground contains about ten acres.
Upon this site the Godly founders of our church laid the corner-stone of the building July 26th, 1792. Appro- priate ceremonies attended the event, and "the leading gentlemen of the town participated." The roof was raised September 27th of the same year, and in Decem- ber the house was enclosed. The building fund was now exhausted, and work was suspended for a time. By special act of the legislature, May, 1793, the Trustees of the church were authorized to raise $2000 by means of a lottery. Christian conscience experienced no qualms, and public opinion sounded no protest (O tem- pora! O mores!), and the lottery was drawn, yield- ing the full amount needed. In January, 1794, the work of building was resumed, and continued without inter- ruption till May, 1795, when the house was so far fin- ished as to be fit for use; and the congregation, which had been worshiping in the court-house, entered, with rejoicing, into their own church home. On the 17th of May, 1795, the building was solemnly dedicated to the worship of Almighty God. The sermon on that occa- sion was preached by Rev. John Davenport, of Deer- field, from Joel iii. 21: "For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed ; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." * This old historic building, first occupied in 1795, is still standing in all its quaintness, as pretentious
8
as the best village churches of that day. Its lofty pul- pit, its brick-paved aisles, its high-backed seats, its huge windows filled with tiny panes, the solemn representa- tion above the pulpit of the eye of the Almighty-these all are redolent of precious memories. Some of our oldest residents still remember the Sabbaths spent in the old church, the doctrinal sermons there preached, the devout services of prayer, and the catechetical classes. Only once is there remembered a profanation of that hallowed house. It was when a murder case was tried therein in 1797.
Mr. Robert B. Potter furnishes the following reminis- cences of that singular case, a full account of which was written by him for Everts and Peck's "History of Cumberland County." "John Patterson, an Irish- man, murdered Capt. Andrew Conrow, and attempted to kill two others of his crew, on their vessel, on Mau- rice River between Dorchester and Leesburg. The cabin boy escaped to the rigging, and thus saved his own life, and afterwards was the chief witness against Patterson. A special term of the Oyer and Terminer was held in September, 1797, and he was convicted chiefly on the evidence of the cabin boy. The trial took place in the Presbyterian Church on Broad Street, the court-house not being large enough to accommodate the people. The building was unplastered at that time, and it is related that the beams above were crowded with men and boys eager to see the prisoner and hear the evidence against him. During the course of the trial, whilst the cabin boy was giving in his testimony, Patter- son, frenzied with anger, seized the lad by the throat and endeavored to choke him to death. The act created a painful excitement, and it was with difficulty that the people could be restrained from tearing Patterson to
9
pieces. He was convicted and sentenced to be hung, but hung or choked himself to death the next morning, with a silk handkerchief, on the upper hinge of his cell door, thus cheating the gallows of the most deserving victim who ever faced that reality in this county."
In thus tracing the history of the church building, we have omitted important events that were meanwhile transpiring. The church organization was effected Oc- tober 17th, 1792, by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and, as before said, divine services were held in the old court- house till the church edifice was ready for use. The fol- lowing is an extract from the minutes of Presbytery, October 17th, 1792 : "Through Jonathan Elmer, Esq., their commissioner, application was made by the inhabi- tants of Bridge Town and its vicinity, in the county of Cumberland, in the State of New Jersey, to be erected into a distinct congregation. After mature deliberation on the subject, Presbytery unanimously agrees to grant the prayer of said application, and do hereby constitute and form the above-mentioned inhabitants into a distinct congregation, to be hereafter known by the name of the congregation of Bridge Town." * * * As early as April 30th, 1792, at a meeting of the inhabitants of Bridge Town and its vicinity, a plan of union with the Presbyterian Congregation of Greenwich was drawn up and agreed upon, and presented to the latter congrega- tion by a committee appointed for that purpose. But the plan not being approved by the Greenwich people, the idea of union was for the time relinquished. When, therefore, application was made to Presbytery to organ- ize the inhabitants of Bridge Town into a church, it was with the intention of being separate from Greenwich in the arrangements for pastor. A plan of union for the two congregations was finally agreed upon, however,
IO
and on November 14th, 1794, the Rev. William Clark- son, M. D., was ordained and installed in Greenwich Church as Pastor of the two congregations. Rev. Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, president of Princeton College, preached the sermon on this occasion. Dr. Clarkson first made his home on the parsonage farm, near Bowen- town, and preached every Sabbath to both churches. After four years he moved to Bridge Town, and, being a graduate of medicine, began to practice the healing art in connection with the pastoral office. Differences of opinion arising in the congregation as to the expediency of combining the two professions, Dr. Clarkson resigned in 1801, having faithfully served the two congregations about seven years. The following facts concerning Dr. Clarkson have been gleaned from various sources. He was a very skillful physician, and had acquired an exten- sive and lucrative practice in New York. He married a Miss Floyd of Long Island. Soon after his marriage both husband and wife became impressed with the im- portance of religion, and became earnest Christians. Soon after his conversion Dr. Clarkson was licensed to preach the gospel, and was called to the Bridge Town and Greenwich charge, where he was ordained and in- stalled November 14th, 1794. He was the father of four children, all of whom lived to adult age and, married well, and were greatly blessed of God. One of the daughters married the late John Crosby, Esq., of New York City, the father of the Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby. It is inter- esting in this connection to state that S. Beach Jones, son of the late Rev. Dr. Jones, married a daughter of Edward Crosby, brother of the late Dr. Howard Crosby. After leaving Bridge Town Dr. Clarkson became Pastor of a church in Savannah, Ga. He was later Pastor at John's Island, S. C. He died in 1812. He is described
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II
as a popular and excellent preacher, who read his care- fully prepared sermons. His articulation was clear and distinct, and his voice pleasing. He was of medium height and of fine presence.
From 1801 till 1805 both churches were without a Pas- tor. In 1803 the Greenwich Congregation called the Rev. Alexander Boyd, but the Bridgeton people not concurring he did not become Pastor.
The Rev. Hezekiah Woodruff was also proposed in 1803 but the congregations again failed to unite. On July 4th, 1804, at a joint meeting, the Rev. Jonathan Freeman was called. At that time he was pastor at Newburgh, N. Y., but a native of this State. He was duly installed October 16th, 1805, in the Bridgeton church. He took up his residence at the parsonage, farm belonging to the Greenwich Church, which was situated about half way be- tween the two meeting-houses, the dwelling-house being a good old fashioned frame-house on a by-road, south of the Bowentown main road. The farm lay immediately south of Mr. John Holmes' farm, whose ancient brick dwelling is on the high ground after you cross the railroad. Mr. Freeman lived in Greenwich till 1810, when he changed his place of residence to Bridgeton, as his prede- cessor, Dr. Clarkson, had done. He preached in Bridge- ton in the morning and evening and at Greenwich in the afternoon. To this arrangement, which was naturally considered one-sided, the Greenwich congregation gave a reluctant consent. Mr. Freeman continued his pastor- ate till his death, November 17th, 1822, a period of seven- teen years. He is still remembered by aged people who were his parishioners. They speak of him with love and veneration. He was tall and handsome, stout and well proportioned. He was always dignified and self- possessed. As a Pastor he was faithful and industrious,
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a tender sympathizer and wise counselor. The vener- able Dr. Enoch Fithian says of him : " His prayers were remarkable in language, matter, and manner, for their solemnity, impressiveness, and appropriateness ; his ser- mons were prepared with care and read from manu- script. The same sermon, ordinarily, that was preached to one congregation on the morning of the Sabbath, was preached to the other in the afternoon. He delighted to dwell on the doctrines of the Church, which he received ex animo, as the doctrines of the Bible, and defended with a dogmatism which sometimes, perhaps, occasioned those who differed from him in their theology to cling with increased pertinacity to what he deemed their erro- neous opinions. When speaking of the love of Christ, the sufficiency of the atonement, or expostulating with the impenitent, and in the administration of baptism and the Lord's Supper, he was more than most, ministers, solemn, tender, and impressive."
While Pastor of the church he received the degree of "A. M." from Columbia College, and again in 1809 from the College of New Jersey.
He published two tracts on baptism, most valuable controversial treatises. He was also editor, for a time, of the Christian Repertory. Mr. Freeman's remains are sleeping in the Old Broad Street Cemetery, under the shadow of the edifice where he so long preached the Gospel. Probably due to the influence of Mr. Freeman was the bequest of Dr. Jonathan Elmer of $1000 to the church, out of the interest of which ten dollars annually should be paid to the pastor for preaching a special ser- mon on the "Authority and Essential Doctrines of Chris- tianity." This legacy, by the consent of its "overseer," Jonathan Elmer, in 1842 and 1844, was employed to pay a debt of the church ; the trustees engaging to pay annually the interest on $1000 for the uses named in the will.
I3
A vacancy of two years followed Mr. Freeman's death, during which time several ministers supplied the pulpit at different times. One of these, the Rev. Thomas Biggs, was called to be Pastor, but declined. In the spring of 1824 the Rev. Brogan Hoff, then Pastor of a Dutch Reformed Church in Philadelphia, was called. Owing to the growing importance of the Bridgeton con- gregation the call was made by that church for the full services of the Pastor, without consulting the people of Greenwich. The latter were disappointed and displeased that Bridgeton had thus declared its independence with- out due regard, as they alleged, to the interests of Green- wich. Some prophesied that it would prove a death blow to the latter church. The result, however, showed the wisdom of the separation, for each church prospered the better and more happily for having the full services of a pastor. On June 10th, 1824, the Rev. Brogan Hoff was installed. His pastorate continued about nine years, and was terminated in April, 1833. There seems to have been a warm regard on the part of the people for the Pas- tor, who was a man of more than ordinary ability. His health was not strong and he was once released from all pastoral duties for six months. Mr. Robert B. Potter kindly furnishes these interesting facts. " Mr. Hoff was born at Harlingen, Somerset County, N. J., in 1794. He graduated at Queen's (Rutgers) College, N. J., in 1818. The same year he was licensed to preach by the Classis of New Brunswick, and became Pastor of a Dutch Reformed Church in Philadelphia. There he re- mained till 1824 when he was called to Bridgeton, After leaving Bridgeton in 1833 he went to the "Irish Settle- ment," in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, as an agent of the American Sunday-school Union. The con- gregation at that place being pleased with him, gave him a call, which he accepted, and was installed November
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12th, 1833. Heremained in the "Settlement " as Pastor of the Allen Township Presbyterian Church until the spring of 1835. From the "Settlement" he was called to the United Reformed Churches of Leeds and Kiskatani, near Catskill, N. Y. There he remained till 1842, when he re- moved to Germantown, N. Y. There he was Pastor till 1850. From that time until his death in 1869 he lived in Germantown without charge."
It was during the pastorate of Mr. Hoff in 1826 that the old Session-House was built, on the northeast corner of Commerce and Pearl Streets, the site given for a church edifice, and upon which the work of erection had actually begun just fifty years before. This Session-House was used for prayer-meetings, lectures, and Sabbath-school purposes till 1863. It was then removed to the present site of the beautiful chapel, corner North Pearl Street and Church Lane. It is now located on Mill Street, and is used as a tenement-house. The Rev. John Kennedy succeeded Mr. Hoff and was installed May 8th, 1834. His was the shortest of all the pastorates, terminating October 18th, 1838. Those who remember Mr. Kennedy speak well of him as a faithful and gifted scriptural preacher. He had qualities of heart and mind that left their impress on the church and community. But he was in some respects ill adapted to the work in Bridgeton. It was during Mr. Kennedy's pastorate that the project, often previously agitated, was carried out, namely, the building of a house of worship on the east side of the Co- hansey. A site was chosen in the busiest and most cen- tral part of the town. It was purchased from the Rev. Henry Smalley, a well-known and prominent Baptist minister, whose residence occupied part of the lot. A . parenthetical mention of Mr. Smalley may not be out of place at this point. He was born in 1765 in East Jersey,
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graduated at Princeton College in 1786, was licensed to preach soon after, and November 8th, 1790, was ordained and made Pastor of the old Cohansey (Roadstown) Bap- tist Church. He died February 11th, 1839, in the sev- enty-fourth year of his age, having been Pastor nearly half a century of the one church. It was through Mr. Smalley's efforts that the First Baptist Church of Bridge- ton was organized January 31st, 1828.
The records show that on January Ist, 1835, a meet- ing was held to decide the question of the new building. The congregation seemed unanimous in the decision to build at once, and liberal subscriptions were made. The corner-stone was laid, with appropriate ceremonies, May 13th, 1835. The building was originally fifty by sixty-five feet. After worshiping in the old Broad Street Church for forty one years the congregation dedi- cated the new edifice March 31st, 1836. " The West Jersey Observer" for March 26th, 1836, has this notice :-
" DEDICATION OF THE NEW CHURCH."
" We are requested to state that the new Presbyterian Church, Bridgeton, will be dedicated on Thursday next, March 31st, at half past ten o'clock in the morning. The Rev. Dr. Breckenridge, of Princeton, and Rev. D. B. Methune are expected to take part in the exercises ; the meetings will continue for several days. A general in- vitation is given to all who may be disposed to attend."
Dr. John Breckenridge delivered the dedicatory sermon, and the protracted services were characterized by devout thanksgiving and enthusiasm. Mr. Kennedy occupied the pulpit of the new church but two years and a half. From Bridgeton he moved to St. Louis, Mo., from which time the Bridgeton people seem to have quite lost sight of him and his family.
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After Mr. Kennedy's resignation, in 1838, the church was supplied for a year and a half by ministers of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, to which it was still attached. The Rev. Samuel Beach Jones was installed on the 9th of May, 1839. One of the most important events of this period was the organization of the Second Presbyterian Church, October 13th, 1838, by the Third Presbytery of Philadelphia, in connection with the New School As- sembly. Their church building was dedicated Novem- ber 7th, 1840. In September, 1850, the church united with the West Jersey Presbytery, thus coming into the Old School Assembly. With the organization of the Second Church, the First Church did not at first at all sympathize, for theological reasons then ardently agi- tated. It is gratifying, therefore, to note the rapid subsi- dence of the "odium theologicum," for the records show that there was liberal help extended by the mem- bers of the First Church towards the building of the house of worship of the other church. Such kindly and cordial feeling has now so long prevailed between the mother and her comely daughter that it is hard to be- lieve that the traditions about antagonisms are not mythical. It is interesting to note in this connection that the Rev. H. H. Beadle, the faithful and beloved Pastor of the Second Church, has recently celebrated the Twenty- fifth Anniversary of his pastorate.
But to return to our history, Dr. Jones continued to be Pastor till May 21st, 1863, just twenty-four years. So fresh in the memory of many are the events of his hon- ored and fruitful ministry that it is not necessary to re- count them in detail. By universal consent Dr. Jones held the foremost place in the ministry of the southern part of this State. His learning, his eminent qualities of leadership, his social position, his charming manners,
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his commanding presence, his resonant voice, his orator- ical powers-these combined with simple and devout piety made his influence a power felt throughout the en- tire Presbyterian Church. He wielded a ready and trenchant pen, and was one of the ablest contributors to the Church reviews on all the stirring questions of the times. He was instrumental in organizing the Presby- tery of West Jersey, which has done so much to extend Presbyterianism in this part of the State. As an evan- gelical preacher he had few peers. Logical, clear, doc- trinal, he was also tender, pathetic, poetic. He built solidly in all his work as a Pastor. He trained the youth of the Church not only in the Bible, but also in the doctrines of the Church. Many still live to call him blessed, and the stamp of his majestic and sanctified per- sonality rests on the church where he ministered and the community where he lived. He continued his resi- dence in Bridgeton until his death, March 19th, 1883. He was buried in the old churchyard, where recently the body of his beloved wife has been laid beside him.
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