USA > New Jersey > Morris County > Madison > A history of the Presbyterian Church, Madison, N.J. : a discourse, delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1854 > Part 1
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Gc 974.902 M26ta
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 02942 6852
Gc 974.902 M26ta Tuttle, Samuel L. A history of the Presbyterian Church,
3191
45
A HISTORY
OF THE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,
MADISON, N. J.
Discourse,
DELIVERED ON
THANKSGIVING DAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1854,
BY THE
REV, SAMUEL L. TUTTLE, PASTOR OF THE CHURCH.
NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY M. W. DODD, CORNER SPRUCE ST. AND CITY HALL SQUARE.
1855.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
MADISON, November 25, 1854.
REV. SAMUEL L. TUTTLE,-
RESPECTED AND ESTEEMED PASTOR :- The historical discourse which you were kind enough to present to us on Thanksgiving Day, the 23d instant, in relation to the rise and progress of this church and congregation, excited in our minds a very great degree of interest ; and we take this method of saying to you, that the service which you have, in this way, rendered to this community, and especially to ourselves and our fellow-parishioners, is held by us all, in high appreciation. Believing, too, that if the facts embodied in that discourse could be given to the public, in a permanent form, many important interests would be subserved, we take the liberty of asking you-as we do most respectfully-to place a copy of it at our disposal, with a view to its publication.
With sentiments of sincere respect and esteem,
H. P. GREEN,
WILLIAM M. MUCHMORE, ROBERT ALBRIGHT,
JOHN B. MILLER,
EVERETT H. GREEN, JAMES ALBRIGHT,
LEWIS THOMPSON, ALBERT CARTER, JOHN KNAPP, GEORGE E. SAYRE, .. AMZA W. GENUNG, CHARLES C. FORCE, STEPHEN D. HUNTING, LUTHER EDDY, JOSEPH S. SAYRE, HENRY KEEP, EDWIN BURROUGHS, SAMUEL D. BURNET, GEORGE COLE, DAVID H. ROBERTS,
Yours, &c., ABRAHAM BRITTIN, ASHBEL CARTER, WILLIAM BRITTIN, SAMUEL ROBERTS, Jr., LEWIS M. BROWNING,
DAVID M. FORCE, JONATHAN B. BRUEN, IRA BURNET, CALEB C. BURROUGHS, GEORGE T. SAYRE, AARON CARTER, WILLIAM P. CONKLIN, .. DENNIS F. CROWELL, WM. JACKSON BRITTIN, DAVID L. MILLLER, SMITH S. HOLLOWAY, ALFRED BRITTIN, ICHABOD BRUEN, CHARLES ROSS, JOHN JOHNSTON.
NOTE.
IN yielding to the wishes of his respected and esteemed parishioners, in reference to the publication of the following " Historical Discourse," the Author begs leave to state, that, in its original preparation, he had not the most remote conception that any such use would ever be made of it ; but that his simple and sole object was, the gratification and encouragement of his congregation, on the occasion of its first delivery. It was, at that time, contained within the limits of an ordinary discourse. Since its publication has been suggested, however, it has seemed to him, that, by adding a few facts, and going somewhat more into detail than he did at first, a service might be rendered, at least to the people of his charge, by converting it into a small book of reference for their use. This will account for the greatly increased length of the discourse ; and also for the fact, that so many things have been introduced, which would not have been suitable for the pulpit, and which were not in it, on the occasion when it was first presented.
The Author has no other object in giving up these researches to his people's disposal, than to subserve their interests as a society, and to preserve matters of history pertaining to the pious and self-sacrificing efforts of their ancestors, which he thinks ought not to be lost.
+ Iscourse.
" Then Samuel took a stone, and set it up between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."'-1 Samuel vii. 12.
THE occasion of this incident was a celebrated victory, gained by the Israelites over their ene- mies, the Philistines. The Israelites, by their sins, having provoked the divine displeasure, Samuel assembled their tribes at Mizpeh, about eighteen miles northwest of Jerusalem, with a view to their making confession of their sins, and securing the divine forgiveness. The Philistines, hearing of this great convocation, and supposing that they were making preparations to give them battle, went up against them with a very great army, and encamped before Mizpeh. The Israelites, having been taken by surprise, were alarmed, and besought Samuel to cry unto the Lord for their de-
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liverance. "And Samuel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him ;" and when the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, "the Lord thundered with a great thunder" upon the Philis- tines and discomfited them. "And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philis- tines, and smote them until they came under Beth Car."
In these circumstances it was that Samuel per- formed the act recorded in the text. Deeply im- pressed with the conviction that the victory thus secured was from God, " he took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer," or the stone of help, "saying, ' Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.'"
This act of Samuel is worthy of the imitation of all those who have experienced peculiar bless- ings at the hand of God ; and I have thought it not altogether inappropriate to our own circum- stances as a Christian church and congregation ; and for this reason I have selected it as a guide to our thoughts on the present occasion. Having. sprung from an origin comparatively humble ; having been obliged to contend with great difficul- ties ; and having, by the blessing of God, attained
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.
our present state of influence and general prosper- ity ; it becomes us, as much as it became Israel, to pause a little in our way, and, " setting up our Ebenezer," or "stone of help," say, with devout and heartfelt gratitude, " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."
A brief review of the history of this church and congregation will show us the extent of our in- debtedness to our divine Benefactor; and lead us, it is to be hoped, to a more cordial and unreserved consecration of ourselves to his service.
The section of country which we are inhabiting was first settled in the year 1685; about twenty years after the settlement of Elizabethtown and Newark. The first settlers were principally from the places just named ; though some of them are known to have come here from the New England States, Long Island, and England. Attracted by the fine, open character of the country, but more especially by the iron ore imbedded in our hills, a few enterprising men brought their families over, what was then called, " the great mountain of Watchung," afterwards the " Newark mountain ;" and located themselves at different points in this vicinity. Large tracts of land were purchased by
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many of them, of the old "New Jersey Proprie- tors ;" and while some of them devoted themselves to the clearing and cultivation of the soil, others engaged in the manufacture of iron.
At a very early period, a great deal of capital and skill were employed in the business of making iron ; and for this purpose a considerable number of forges* were constructed and put in operation within the present limits of our county. This, doubtless, contributed largely towards the original settlement of this entire region.
Among the first settlers in this immediate vicin- ity were Benjamin Carter; Jeremiah Genung ;
* One of these forges stood on the site of the mills belonging to Mr. Samuel Roberts at Green Village ; another near the grist- mill in Chatham village ; another on the Whippany river ; another in Troy ; another in " Old Boonton ;"' another at Rockaway ; and others at Hibernia, Split-Rock and elsewhere. These establish- ments gave to this region formerly the name of " the Old Forges," by which it continued to be known for many years.
; The ore that was used in these forges was carried from the mines on the backs of horses ; and after it was manufactured into iron, it was carried in the same way over the mountain to Eliza- bethtown and Newark.
t This gentleman was the first owner of the land now occupied by the village of Madison; and his residence was on the corner by the toll-gate, since owned by Capt. Mallaby. He built the first grist-mill that was ever put up in this vicinity. This stood a few feet below the present site of Springer and Lehman's steam mill ; the mill-dam being built across the valley, a few yards above
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Josiah Broadwell ; Theophilus and Josiah Miller ; Silas, Stephen and Josiah Hand ; Abraham and David Cory ; Benjamin Ladner ; Lemuel Hedges ; Zebedee and Moses Potter; Aaron, James and David Burnet ; Jonathan Thompson ; Horick Ben- jamin ; Samuel Marsh ; John Muchmore ; John, Samuel and Nathaniel Roberts ; Joseph Wingate ; Daniel, Paul and Stephen Day ; Obadiah Lum ; David Bruen ; Jabez Linsley ; Israel, Thomas and David. Ward; Nathaniel and Benjamin Bonnel ; and others, whose descendants are living in our midst. Some of these persons came here from New England, and some from Long Island ; but the great majority of them were from the vicinity . of Elizabethtown and Newark. They were, for the most part, consequently, of New England origin.
The principal centre of these settlements, at that time, and for many years subsequently, was on the Whipponong river,* where the village of
that point, and flowing the lands lying north of the village to ª considerable depth during the rainy season, it being entirely dry duringthe summer. When this mill was abandoned, a horse mill took its place.
* The Whipponong river received its name from a tribe of Indians-the Whipponongs, who formerly lived and ranged on its banks.
1*
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.
Whippany now stands. Around this point, there came, in the progress of years, to be collected a very considerable population ; and in the year 1700, a township* was set off here, bearing the name of the river above mentioned, and embracing all that territory which is now included in the townships of Morris, Chatham, and Hanover. This new township was then within the limits of the county of Hunterdon," which at that time embraced all the territory within the present county of that name, and that, also, which is now in the counties of Morris, Sussex, and Warren.
The first church ever organized in what is now the county of Morris, was the old Presbyterian church in Whippany, which was formed about the year 1718. At that time, this entire region was almost an uninterrupted wilderness. Indian tribes were ranging over these hills and valleys, and beasts of prey were roaming without molesta-
The township of Whipponong changed its name to that of Hanover, about the year 1740.
t The county of Morris was set off from the county of Hunter- don by an act of the Assembly in the year 1738 ; and at that time, and for several years afterwards, it embraced all the terri- tory within its present limits, as well as that of the counties of Sussex and Warren.
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.
tion through almost unbroken forests. There were but few farms cleared and cultivated ; there were but few dwellings erected ; the population was very sparsely distributed over the territory, and there were but few conveniences and priv- ileges enjoyed. Morristown had not then begun to be considered even a village. Having com- menced only about ten years before this time, it was not until about sixty years afterwards that it contained a population of two hundred and fifty. Newark, which had been settled about forty years, by persons from Connecticut, at that time con- tained a population of less than three hundred ; and Elizabethtown, which was then the centre of trade for this part of New Jersey, was, compara- tively, but an insignificant village. In Basking-
ridge, some Scotch Presbyterian families, who had settled there, were worshipping in a log meeting- house, which they had erected a year or two pre-
viously. In the village of Springfield, there were but three dwelling-houses standing ; and the resi- dents were considered as belonging to the congre- gation in Elizabethtown ; whither, it is said, they were accustomed to walk on the Sabbath, in order to attend divine worship. Bloomfield, Orange, and
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Belleville, were small outskirt settlements belong- ing to the First Presbyterian Church in Newark. The villages of Hanover, Parsippany, New Ver- non, Boonton, and Chatham, were not yet in exist- ence. There were no houses of worship of any order, in either of the places which have just been named ; nor in Morristown, Rockaway, Mend- ham, Green Village, or this place, which, at that time, and for many years subsequently, was called BOTTLE HILL .* The only church that existed in all this wide extent of country, was the one referred to in Whippany. That church, which was a plain wooden structure, covered on all sides
* With respect to the origin of the name, "Bottle Hill," there are various traditions. One is, that it was first called "Battle Hill," from some great battle that was fought near the present academy, by hostile tribes of Indians. Another is, that two Indians, in quarrelling near the spring in that vicinity, broke a bottle, from which circumstance it is thought by some to have taken its name. Another, and the most plausible, as well as the most ignoble one is, that a bottle suspended from a sign-post, at an early period in the history of this place, designated the first tavern that was ever kept here. That tavern was located on the corner, subsequently the property of Mr. Ellis Cook, opposite the academy. In corroboration of this theory, it is stated that Major Luke Miller, who died in this place a few years since, at the advanced age of ninety-three, stated that he remembered to have seen the bottle suspended there, as above described, for sev- eral years during the period of his youth.
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with shingles, and without spire or cupola, stood on the present burying-plot in that village, in front of the residence of Mr. Calvin Howell, and adjoin- ing the homestead of Mr. Silas Tuttle. The first pastor of that church was the Rev. Nathaniel Hubbel,* who was ordained and installed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and who remained there for about thirteen years. The second was the Rev. John Nutman, who was settled in 1730, and left in 1745, having been there for a period of about fifteen years. The third was the Rev. Jacob Green,t father of the late Dr. Ashbel Green, of
* At that time Mr. Hubbel preached both for the church in Whippany, or, as it was then called, " East Hanover," and the Pres byterian church in Westfield. Both congregations were then very_ feeble, and they were obliged to resort to this method, in order to avail themselves of the labors of a stated minister. The prob- ability is, that Mr. Hubbel preached on alternate Sabbaths in these two places.
+ Rev. Mr. Green continued to preach in the old church at Whippany until the year 1755, about eight years after the church in Madison was organized ; when, by the advice of the Presbytery of New York, with which the church was at that time connected, the congregation built two houses of worship, one in Parsippany, the other in Hanover Neck (the old church being entirely given up), and Mr. Green continued to preach in both churches until that part of the congregation at Parsippany called the Rev. James Tuttle to become their pastor, when he confined his labors to Hanover Neck until the time of his death, which occurred about the year 1790.
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.
Philadelphia, who was settled in 1746, and con- tinued the pastor of the church for the period of forty-four years. To that place the inhabitants of all this region repaired on the Sabbath day to worship God; many of them being obliged to travel for this purpose six, eight, and, in some instances, even ten miles.
In or about the year 1740, during the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Nutman, a small and very feeble church was organized and established in Morris- town,* or, as it was then called, " West Hano- ver," by members of the old Whippany parish, residing in that vicinity. This was the First Presbyterian church in that village, of which the
* That church was organized in the face of the most strenuous opposition. The ground of the opposition was, the supposed inability of the eastern portion of the old congregation to support a pastor without the assistance of the western. The matter was in agitation for several years ; the Presbytery was called together to give their counsel in reference to it; and it is said that the eastern part of the parish proposed to decide it by " the casting of lots." The lot was cast, and it was decided that the proposed society should not be organized. The inhabitants of Morristown, or West Hanover, however, having, at the outset, declared their unwillingness to have the matter determined in this way, at length carried their point, and were organized into a church in the year already mentioned, and received into connection with the old Presbytery of New York. See "Records of the Presbyterian Church," pages 102, 108 and 143.
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.
Rev. Messrs. Johnes, Richards, Fisher, Barnes, Kirtland, and others, have been pastors, and which has grown to be one of the most able and important churches in our land.
About seven years after the formation of the church in Morristown, those who resided in the southern part of the old Whippany congrega- tion, finding it inconvenient to attend church at so great a distance, and being dissatisfied with the project, which was then in agitation, of erecting a new meeting-house in Hanover Neck, in place of the old one at Whippany, drew off from the parent society, and organized the church and congrega- tion with which we are now connected. This was in or about the year 1747 ; and it appears to have been done in opposition to the judgment and ad- vice of the Presbytery of New York, with which the Whippany society was at that time connected. The Rev. Jacob Green was then the pastor of the parent church, having been settled there in that capacity about one year previously. This district of country was at that time a part of the town- ship of Hanover; and for this reason the new church in this place very properly assumed the name of " the Presbyterian Church of South Han-
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over,"* which it retained for about seventy years. The congregation, at the commencement, was necessarily very feeble, the number of church members was small, and there were but few in this entire vicinity who were able to contribute much to the maintenance of Christian ordinances. For a year or two, the congregation worshipped in barns and private houses ; and sometimes, when the weather would admit of it, in the open air ; until, sometime in the year 1748,; the project was proposed of erecting a house of worship. After a great deal of consultation, and much persevering and self-sacrificing effort on the part of the peo- ple residing in this vicinity, a subscription was
* In the old records of the Presbyterian church, Hanover, the Rev. Mr. Green speaks of the formation of this church in the fol- lowing words. After stating that his settlement at Whippany occurred in November, 1746, he adds : " The meeting-house on the Whippany river was old and small ; and there were, about that time, proposals made for building a new one. But some families in the south end of the town and neighboring parts, thinking they should not be suited with the position of the meeting-house in Hanover Neck, went off, contrary to the endeavors of the Presby- tery, and erected a new meeting-house in the south end of the town, which has been called South Hanover."
A similar statement, in the hand-writing of the Rev. Aaron Condit, Mr. Green's successor, is also in the old records of the church at Hanover.
t See Historical Collections of New J se , p. 377.
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started ; and some time in the course of the year 1749, nearly two years after the organization of the society, the church edifice was commenced. The work advanced, however, but slowly ; and at one time, on account of the want of means to pro- ceed, it was actually arrested, until, by the prompt and decided action of one of the original settlers * of this place, who said that " if the congregation would not complete the work, he would do it him- self," it was resumed, and the building was at length inclosed. It was then seated in a very rude manner, with boards or slabs, and with a plain pulpit ; and in this condition it appears to have been occupied for a period of about fifteen years, when the congregation appointed a com- mittee to " superintend the finishing of the meet- ing-house ;" and gave certain individuals, who are named, permission to construct pews for their own accommodation in different parts of the church, next to the walls, both below and in the gallery. This, accordingly, was effected during the year following; and the church, consequently, may be regarded as having been completed in the course of the year 1765.
* Mr. Luke Carter, grandfather of Mr. Ashbel Carter.
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.
The site selected for the meeting-house, was the crown of the hill, on the south side of the burying-ground, within about a hundred yards of the deep cut through which the Morris and Essex Railroad now passes. The main road through the village at that time passed over the hill, upon which the church was built, and immediately in front of it, instead of through it, as it does now.
HOLTON & JARDINIE ENS NY !
THE OLD MEETING - HOUSE.
The church, located on this beautiful eminence, and, after so many years, at length completed as above described, was a much smaller and plainer
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PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON.
edifice than the one in which we now worship. Its dimensions were forty-eight feet by fifty, and when it was regularly seated, it was capable of accommodating about four hundred and fifty per- sons. It was an unpretending and almost square wooden structure ; covered on all sides with shin- gles, and without spire or cupola. It had a gal-
lery, extending around on three sides, and was finished with large and very high square pews next to the walls, entirely around the house, both above and below, the body of the house being occupied with single slips, which were construct- ed with very high and perpendicular backs. The lower part of the house was divided by three aisles, which ran north and south ; and a very plain, and rather high and small five-sided pulpit, resting on a single pillar, and surmounted by a somewhat elaborately fashioned sounding-board, stood in the northeast end of the building. Un- der the pulpit was a large, square pew, called the " deacons' pew," in which the deacons of the church, as well as the choristers, were accus- tomed to sit. A single front door communicated with the street, and another, on the southeastern side, communicated with the burying-ground. A
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· staircase went up into the gallery on either side of the main entrance ; over which and nearly up to the ceiling were two very large square pews, which, to persons below, had the appearance of a second gallery, and which, to many who are still living, are somewhat memorable, not only for the names by which they were designated, but also for the misdeeds of which they were sometimes witnesses. A large, open, and level green plat lay in front of the house, on which stood a ma- jestic wild cherry-tree, and a number of gigantic white oaks, which had been saved when the adja - cent grounds were wrested from the dominion of the primeval forest. In the rear of the house, and on either side of it, were the unpretending freestone monuments-then comparatively few in number-of those who had already been "gath- ered to their fathers."
Such was the sanctuary which our fathers first erected for the worship of God on this " beautiful hill of Zion;" and thither did they continue to repair from Sabbath to Sabbath for nearly seventy years, before any other place of worship was erect- ed within the limits of this township; the entire
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church-going portion of our population assembling there to record their vows before God.
For nearly three years after the organization of the church, the congregation were unable to avail themselves of the labors of a stated pastor ; and were obliged to look to the Presbytery of New York and to other sources for occasional supplies. Young men just licensed to preach the gospel, ministers without charge, and sometimes the pas- tors of neighboring churches, would spend a Sab- bath with them, and break unto them the bread of life ; but they were obliged, not unfrequently, during this early period of their history, to con- duct divine worship themselves, without the assist- ance of a minister ; the officers and leading mem- bers of the church alternating, in reading a ser- mon, and in exhortation and prayer.
Early in the year 1750, the congregation hav- ing heard the Rev. NEHEMIAH GREENMAN*, a young licentiate of the Presbytery of Suffolk, L. I.,
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