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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
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Gc 974.902 N42nF Nichols, Thomas. First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick, N.J.
1582
THE
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
OF
NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J. :
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE A
DELIVERED BY THE PASTOR,
REV. THOMAS NICHOLS,
JULY 2, 1876.
PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J. : TERHUNE & VAN ANGLEN'S PRESS, 31 ALBANY STREET. 1876.
Allen County Public Library 900 Webster Street PO Box 2270 Fort Wayne, IN 46801-2270
GEN
SERMON.
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PSALM XLVI. 5. " GOD IS IN THE MIDST OF HER."
THE history of the First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick may be divided into three periods, corresponding, though not with perfect accuracy, to the three half centuries of its duration.
The first two and something more are covered by the "Historical Sketch " prepared by a former pastor, Rev. Dr. Davidson, and read before the New Jersey Historical Society in 1852. These periods therefore will be treated here only in outline, and free use will be made of the material of Dr. David- son, wherever occasion requires. Original investi- gation on ground which he has gone over would be superfluous, and present opportunities for it are far inferior to those which he enjoyed. It is peculiarly gratifying that he was induced to undertake the work just as he did, when so many sources of infor- mation were open which are now closed forever.
The first positive date in the history of the church is A. D., 1726, when the Rev. Gilbert Tennent became its pastor. Its organization may have oc- curred previous to this settlement, but concerning this, for reasons which will appear hereafter, nothing can be stated with certainty. So far as can be
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ascertained therefore, it completed the first fifty years of its history in 1776. On the year that the nation was born, it might have celebrated its semi- centennial. Probably it did not: the times were then too lively. This year it might celebrate its ter-semi-centennial, as sister churches have not infre- quently done. Probably it will not: the times are now too dull.
The records of the church during its first half century are not to be found. The subsequent care taken on this point justifies the inference that records were made, but they are supposed to have been de- stroyed during the War of the Revolution, when the house of Dr. Moses Scott, a prominent elder, was entered and plundered by the British troops; an interesting account of which is given in the sketch by Dr. Davidson. For this reason our acquaintance with the history of this period is exceedingly meagre. The names of the founders, of the first officers, of the families originally composing the congregation are all wanting. Dr. Davidson mentions a tradition furnished him by Cornelius Hardenberglı, Esq., that James Hude, a native of Scotland, who came to this country with a number of his compatriots, fleeing from religious persecution, and who was a person of considerable prominence in the early history of the place, was one of the founders: but even this one name, thus apparently rescued from oblivion, we are forced to surrender. Dr. Richard H. Steele, in his interesting " Historical Discourse," delivered at the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniver- sary of the First Reformed Church, mentions this name as occurring on their list of families in the time
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of Mr. Frelinghuysen, their first pastor, and the names of several of his children as appearing on their baptismal register.
But while there is this obscurity in regard to the church, its first pastor, as is well known, was one of the most celebrated religious characters of his day, and his personal prominence brings his people into view. Moreover, through his correspondence and memoirs, even if names are wanting, we can learn something at least, of their religious character and sympathies. It is as when we read general church history of the first two or three centuries: we see the colossal men, here and there, and so through them and their writings, the church.
It is needless to reproduce here with any particu- larity, the well known portrait of Gilbert Tennent. He was a man of great natural gifts, excellent men- tal training, ardent piety, dating from an early con- version, and with a zeal so abounding as to become at once his strength and his weakness. Son of a minister-William Tennent, Sr .- himself celebrated, and with three brothers in the sacred office-John, William and Charles-each a conspicuous figure, he easily surpassed them all in talents and influence, and in fact in these respects was second to but few men in his generation. Born to be a leader, he sprang with eagerness to that place at the front which others as willingly resigned to him. We read with delight of the piety of his brother William, which has undoubtedly left behind it a sweeter savor, but we find at the same time that in all public mat- ters this saintlier spirit was content to follow where Gilbert showed the way.
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Conspicuously associated with Gilbert in friendship and in labor, was the celebrated George Whitefield, who, during his visits to America, came several times to New Brunswick, and on one occasion, April 26th, 1740, preached in the open air to a congregation of from seven to eight thousand; a gathering, con- sidering the times, the sparseness of population and the hindrances to travel, far surpassing anything which has been witnessed at the mammoth meet- ings in Philadelphia and New York, during the past winter. A detailed account of these services may be found in Dr. Davidson's Sketch, which want of time forbids me to reproduce. Copious extracts are also given from Mr. Tennent's narrative of his labors in New Brunswick,-the character of the truth presented, the serious and powerful impressions produced by it, the "melting seasons " enjoyed, especially on sacramental occasions, with other mat- ters of a like nature. It is noticeable however that the best statement which can be made concerning this community even during the period of the Great Awakening-1740, and thereabout-is that "New Brunswick felt some drops of the spreading rain, but no general shower." In the same connection, notice is taken of the character and labors of the good Dominie Frelinghuysen, first pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church, without abundant reference to whom, no history, and especially no religious history, of early New Brunswick could be written. He and Mr. Tennent seem to have been kindred spirits in many things, and to have labored together for the spiritual welfare of the people.
A building was erected by the congregation in
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1727. It was of wood, small and unpretentious, standing on Burnet Street, the west side, just north of Oliver, in the centre of the old Presbyterian Bury- ing ground. From this ground the remains of the dead were removed now several years since, and the space built over, with the exception of lot No. 140; so that no trace of its original use now appears. As nearly as can be ascertained the building stood on lots 140 and 142.
Concerning this building, the accepted tradition has been that it was set fire to and destroyed by the British troops in their attack on New Brunswick dur- ing the Revolutionary war, a force of Americans under Capt. Adam Huyler, having previously been dislodged from it. With this the statement upon the tablet in front of the present edifice corrresponds, reading : "The First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick was erected on Burnet Street, A.D., 1727, and was destroyed by the Public Enemy, during the war of the Revolution."
Upon the substantial facts in this story no doubt has ever been thrown; the question which has since been raised, as to whether the destruction was partial or entire, may be of interest to the curious, but does not invite serious investigation .*
*The following statement in the excellent paper read before the New Brunswick Historical Society in December 1875, by Charles D. Deshler, Esq., may throw some light upon the subject :
"The Presbyterian Church in New Brunswick, before and at the open ing of the Revolutionary War, stood on Burnet Street, on what is now the northerly corner of Oliver Street, below Lyle's Brook, and was built in 1726. A tablet in the present "First Presbyterian Church" states that the old church on Burnet Street was "Destroyed by the Public Enemy During the War of the Revolution ;" and Rev. Robert Davidson, D.D., in his " His- torical Sketch of the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New Bruns- wick," states that it was set fire to by the enemy and was "consumed." [P. 17.] But in the "Book of Registry and copy of Inventory of Damages done by the Enemy and their Adherents to the Inhabitants of Middlesex County," [preserved in manuscript in the State Library at Trenton, No.
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In connection with the labors of the Tennents and of Whitefield, with others of a kindred spirit, arose the first great controversy in the Presbyterian Church of this country, resulting in the disruption of 1741, not healed till 1758. The question between the two sides, the original "old " and " new " in Presbyterian history was, briefly, whether revivals are to be encouraged or the contrary, and whether piety or education is the more important in the Gospel ministry. In this statement, however, exact- ness is sacrificed to brevity, and it is not supposed that it would have been perfectly acceptable to either party in the controversy.
In this strife, as in almost all similar cases, there were faults on both sides. Of the new side, Gilbert Tennent was the acknowledged leader, "so com- pletely the soul of the party," says Dr. Hodge, as
172,] the inventory presented by the congregation does not state that the church was wholly " consumed," but that it was "damaged." The follow- ing is a transcript of the inventory :"
"Ditto of the Presbyterian Meeting House at New Brunswick, Exhibit- ed by Captain Richard Gibb and others, a Committee of ye Congregation, viz :- between November 1776 and June 1777 :
To damages done to the above said Meeting House to ye am't of £400 £400.0.0.
John Lyle, Junior, being sworn saith that he was an Eye Witness to the British Troops and their Adherents damaging of the above said Meet- JOHN LYLE, Ju'r.
ing House.
Sworn Oct. 4, 1782, before Nath. Hunt. S
Joseph Vickers and John Voorhees, carpenters, being sworn saith that they knew the above said Meeting House mentioned in this Inventory, and do adjudge the damages done to the same by the Enemy amounts to £400. Sworn before Nath'l Hunt, 2 JOSEPH VICKERS,
Oct. 4, 1782. JOHN VOORHEES."
More decisive is an entry in the Records of the congregation, Jan. 19th, 1784, as follows : "Agreed that John Van Emburgh and John Lyle be authorized to dispose, in the best possible manner, of the old church edifice, and erect a suitable fence around the lot."
Dr. Steele, in his Historical Discourse already referred to, says: "The building was not entirely destroyed, but as the congregation contemplated removing to another part of the city, instead of repairing the old edifice, it was sold to Mr. Hassert, who removed it to New street, and converted it into a dwelling-house. This building is still standing, and is now No. 21." [p. 62, note.]
This statement of course would not have been made, except upon grounds presumably sufficient, but I have not been able to ascertain what they are.
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quoted by Dr. Davidson, "that without him it would never have existed;" and his church adhered to him.
It is in this position that he makes so striking a figure in the religious history of the times. The impartial historian must set his approval upon him, in view of his refusal to be satisfied with a dead orthodoxy, his earnest efforts for a more aggressive religion, and his sympathy with the great revival movement which was then sweeping over the land. The work which God did through Whitefield is no longer an occasion for debate. At the same time nothing can justify his method and temper, his harsh and uncharitable judgments, and the bitterness of his invective. And in fact he did not justify them himself in his later days. Over against his famous " Nottingham Sermon," we may set his " Irenicum."
As these difficulties increased, New Brunswick church, which had at first been connected with the Presbytery of Philadelphia, was transferred to that of East Jersey (1733), and subsequently, when the presbyteries of East Jersey and Long Island were merged in that of New York (1738), it was set off with several other churches, to form the Presbytery of New Brunswick. Here we have the origin of a presbytery which has exerted, in the course of its long history, a more commanding influence perhaps than any other in the body. There are older churches than ours now on its roll, but as ours fur- nished to it its name, and the leading man, and through this man the very occasion for its existence, it has sometimes been called, it would seem not in- appropriately, the Mother Church of the presbytery. It gave the name indeed to that whole branch of the
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Church with which it stood connected in the division. In the history of the times, the terms the " New side" and the "New Brunswick party," are constantly occurring as interchangeable.
Between this party and the Synod of Philadelphia -- the Old side-the Presbytery of New York occu- pied for a time an intermediate position. But in a few years, having endeavored in vain, while stand- ing aloof, to effect a reconciliation between the con- testants, it came into organic union with the Presby- tery of New Brunswick, the united body growing into that Synod of New York, which, in the re-union of 1758, outnumbered the Old side three to one, and included within itself the best part of the vigor and piety of the Presbyterian body, being the stock, largely, from which the denomination has grown to its present imposing dimensions. And what congre- gation, therefore, among the four thousand and over of our communion, occupies a position more directly in the focus of our early denominational history than our own! And its record here is one of which it may well be proud. If it must share with its pastor the charge of divisive measures, and of a turbulent spirit, it is entitled also with him to the credit of standing fast for an earnest and spiritual religion, in the very crisis of the struggle, and of giving an impulse to the cause of Christ, in the direction of evangelical effort and experimental piety, which it feels to-day." On this account it is all the more to be regretted that the early records are lost, and that the very names of the founders have perished.
* Since writing the above, we have been exceedingly gratified to hear a similar statement with reference to Mr. Tennent, from the lips of the vener- able Dr. Charles Hodge, at the Centennial meeting of the Presbytery of New Brunswick at Lawrenceville.
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In 1743, Mr. Tennent removed to Philadelphia, where he died in 1764, in the sixty-second year of his age. His career after leaving New Brunswick is a part of the general history of the Church.
The congregation thus left without a pastor, con- tinued in this state for several years. Dr. Gillett, in his " History of the Presbyterian Church," speaks of "Arthur who succeeded Tennent at New Brunswick. ' This is in accordance with an old tradition which assigns the pastorate between 1746 and 1751 to a minister of that name-Rev. Thomas Arthur ; but so far as any local knowledge goes, the matter is doubt- ful. In 1760 the minutes of the Presbytery show that a temporary supply was appointed; and arrange- ments of this character were repeated from time to time, till, in 1768, Rev. Israel Read, who had some years previous been installed pastor at Bound Brook, was appointed to supply the pulpit regularly one fourth of his time.
On this scanty diet the church entered upon and passed through the stormy era of the Revolutionary War, closing up what I have designated as the first period in its history. Through the patriotism and personal heroism of several of its members, among whom may be mentioned Colonels Neilson and Taylor, and Dr. Moses Scott, it furnishes a brilliant page to the story of the war: and the temp- tation is strong to introduce the record, on a day like this, the one hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the " Resolution of Independence," on which the " Declaration" was subsequently based,- the real starting-point in our national existence, it may not improperly be claimed. Who of you that
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hears the Declaration read next Tuesday, can fail to think of the first time that it was read in New Brunswick, -- in 1776, by Col. Neilson, "standing on a table in front of Dr. Moses Scott's residence, with an excited crowd of patriots before him, in the face of whose enthusiasm the tories dared not show their opposition." And it would be interesting to refer here to other incidents of the same period, in which names that still have their representatives among us are conspicuous, calculated as they are to kindle our enthusiasm, and deepen our loyalty. This church had its full share in the events of the times. Placed as it was, in the thick of the conflict, it helped with all its power to win for the struggling colonies their liberties. But this very fact brought spiritual work almost to a stand-still. Religion was offering itself upon the altar of Country. And the aspect which the church presents, as it emerges from the conflict, its building burned, its records lost, its services interrupted, its congregation scat- tered, and at the best with only one-fourth of a pas- tor, is the reverse of encouraging.
II. Any one however who follows the men whom I have named through the war, will know that, if God spares them, when the fighting is over, they will set the church upon its feet again. And so it comes to pass.
In January, 1784, when we first strike the solid historical footing which we have so long felt the need of, (the records of the congregation which have since been kept with great regularity, begin- ning at that time) we find the people assembled for
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deliberation; and whether there was on hand the shattered frame of the former edifice to sell, or simply its blackened foundations, a new building is at once resolved upon, and, to meet the wants of a growing community, a new location. Lots were purchased on Paterson Street, corner of George, a point which is still as central as any in the city, and where, after the lapse of ninety years, the surround- ings are still of the most desirable character; and the work was almost immediately commenced. "In 1785," says Dr. Davidson, "the walls were up and under cover," though in some minor particulars it was two or three years before all was completed. The description continues : " The structure was con- venient, though not so large as the present church. It stood a little below the corner of George, fronting on Paterson Street. It was built of bricks, painted yellow (the 'Old Yellow Church' it is still called by those who remember it.) At the north end was a small, narrow pulpit; and square, high-backed pews, ran along the sides."
Modest as the description is, the building was a great advance upon the former one, and well suited to the requirements of the day. Here the scattered congregation found again a home,-a place where they could worship God in comfort, if not in elegance. Some slight changes occurred from time to time, but the building remained substantially as it was first erected, until it gave place to the new edifice in 1837. The pulpit however seems early to have be- come an offense in some eyes; for in 1819, at a meeting of the congregation, it was resolved "That the congregation proceed to erect, in the place of
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the one now standing, another pulpit, of different form and construction, in consequence of many ex- ceptions made to it by many speakers, and various hearers, as to height, depth, and contracted form.' * One hundred dollars were appropriated to this object. Should the voice of criticism be lifted against the present pulpit, to effect a similar change, a larger sum would probably be required.
The church found itself thus with a new building, but without means to pay for it. To obviate this difficulty, application for assistance was made to the people of Boston and vicinity, and, to facilitate the project, a handsome recommendation, certifying to the patriotism of the congregation and their losses during the war, was furnished by Governor Living- ston, and endorsed by Governor Bowdoin, of Mass. Nothing came of it, except thirty dollars in money, unless a " box of Spermaceti," forwarded at the same time, was a contribution to the building fund, instead of a consignment to a private hand. It brings the past and the present into very close sympathy, to find this want of success ascribed to "the failure of several persons in the region of Boston, together with the uncommon scarcity of specie." Dr. David- son gives the correspondence entire.
With the beginning of the new era, 1784, the Legislature was applied to for an act of incorpora- tion, which was granted, and the congregation was
* Dr. Augustus R. Taylor, one of the trustees of the church, was the original mover in this matter, drew the plan for the new.pulpit, and col- lected by subscription the necessary funds for its erection. The pulpit when completed was greatly admired, and when the second edifice was torn down, was thought too good to be destroyed, and so was removed to the Lecture Room. It stood there till the spring of 1875, when, having had its full day, it also gave way to the march of improvement. It had a kind of sacredness in some eyes to the last, and portions of it are still preserved as relics.
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invested with all the rights and privileges usually conferred in this way. The original trustees were John Neilson, Moses Scott, William Patterson, John Taylor, James Richmond, John Meyers and John Lyle, Jr. The provision "for perpetuating a line of succession in the said trustees in a constitutional manner," is as follows : "It shall and may be lawful for the members of the Presbyterian Church in New Brunswick aforesaid, being supporters of the Gospel in said church, to meet annually upon the first Mon- day in May, or upon some following day as soon as convenient, at two o clock in the afternoon, at their meeting-house, and then and there to elect by ballot seven persons in the said church for trustees, who shall transact the public temporal affairs of their church as has been before expressed."
In this connection it may not be amiss to antici- pate so far as to state the rules adopted from time to time in regard to the election of elders. Previous to 1858, no rule as to qualifications of voters is recorded. In that year it was resolved " That at all elections now and hereafter for officers of the church the congregation shall be notified from the pulpit two sabbaths previous to such election, and (1) all persons paying pew-rent, (2) all communicants, and (3) all the baptized members of the age of twenty- one, shall be entitled to vote at all such elections." This was subsequently modified so as to make the voters consist of "all communicants, and all paying pew-holders." The present practice presents the singular contrast that no member of the church not a pew-holder can vote for a trustee, while any pew- holder, whether a member of the church or not, can vote for an older.
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It was at about the same period again that atten- tion was directed to the securing of more regular service in the pulpit. In 1786 the congregation relinquished its partial claim upon Mr. Read, and Rev. Walter Monteith was called to the pastorate, on a salary of £200,-$500. Mr. Monteith was a native of Scotland, and a man of ability. His sermons, it is said, were strongly doctrinal in charac- ter. He dressed in the old style, was dignified in his bearing, and greatly respected. The church prospered under him, though there is no evidence of great activity. He held the charge till April 22, 1794, when he resigned.
He was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Clark, who was installed January 4, 1797, on a salary of £250. Dr. Clark died in office suddenly on Wednesday, October 20, 1813, having served the church faithfully for sixteen years. The Sabbath previous he had preached from the text " The time is short." His death, it is said, made a great impression. The whole city was in mourning. His remains lie in the yard, in the rear of the church.
There are those in the congregation who still re- member Dr. Clark, and speak of him with interest, though information of him now must mostly be gathered at second hand. Dr. Davidson's brief out- line of his life and character is exceedingly interest- ing. According to this, he was a man of the old style, like Mr. Monteith, in dress and manner. His preaching was very impressive, particularly by reason of its emotional character. Few ministers have enjoyed to a greater degree the confidence and af- fection of their people. He exerted a commanding
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