USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > First church in Newark : historical discourses, relating to the First Presbyterian church in Newark; originally delivered to the congregation of that church during the month of January, 1851 > Part 1
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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 00063 3427
Gc 974.902 N51ST STEARNS, JONATHAN F. 1808- 1889. FIRST CHURCH IN NEWARK
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/firstchurchinnew00stea_1
BELLNAMES C
first Presbyterian Church, Newark, H. J. Corner-stone laid, Sept. 1787. Opened for worship, Jan. 1, 1791.
FIRST CHURCH IN NEWARK.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSES,
RELATING TO THE
first Presbyterian Church in Hewark ;
ORIGINALLY DELIVERED TO THE CONGREGATION OF THAT CHURCH DURING THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 1851.
BY JONATHAN F. STEARNS, D. D., PASTOR OF THE CHURCH,
WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NEWARK : PRINTED AT THE DAILY ADVERTISER OFFICE. 1853.
,
Allen County Public Library Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Entered according to Act of Congress A. D. 1853, by JONATHAN F. STEARNS, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the State of New Jersey.
A
PREFACE.
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THESE Discourses were prepared, originally, without the remotest reference to publication ; indeed, the writer had no intention, at the beginning, beyond the preparation of a single practical discourse, founded on a slight glance at the history of the congregation, the early part of which he then supposed had been traced with sufficient minuteness and accuracy by another hand. But this supposition was soon found to be erroneous ; and, as he proceeded, the materials so grew upon his hands that he was insensibly led to extend his narrative to the space of four pulpit discourses. In preparing them for the press, it seemed necessary to pay more regard to completeness and accuracy than had entered into the original plan. In order to this, much must be added, and many obscure points care- fully re-examined. The labor incident to such inqui- ries no one knows who has not tried the experiment. The materials must be collected from the widest spaces, and brought into true connection with each
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PREFACE.
other by the most careful consideration of times and circumstances. The determination of a date may often require to be pursued through volumes, pamphlets, records and obscure manuscripts, the examination of which will cost days of toil, and access to them be ob- tained only by the tardy process of correspondence, or by visiting in person remote places. And after all, perhaps, the result is one which the ordinary reader will either not notice, or regard as a mere matter of course.
In the pursuit of these objects, most of the discourses have been entirely re-written. Some of them have been extended to a length manifestly incompatible with their original design. Details have been de- scended to, which, however valuable in a local history, as contributing to complete the picture of the men and the times, seem hardly suitable to the dignity and sacredness of the pulpit. And as scarcely a third of the matter now presented was contained in the dis- courses as delivered, the writer has hesitated whether he should not abandon the original plan, and give the work the form of a continuous narrative. But, besides the necessity of re-casting the whole, should that change be adopted, the present form seems to have some advantages, at least for the people specially con- cerned ; and he has concluded to let it stand as it is.
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PREFACE.
The sources from which the facts have been drawn are generally indicated by foot-notes, especially in the earlier periods. Besides various well-known histories, genealogical publications, pamphlets, &c., which need not be mentioned here; the original records of the town of Newark; the printed minutes of the old Pres- bytery of Philadelphia and the Synods prior to the formation of the General Assembly; the records of the various Presbyteries with which the Church has been connected, from the year 1774 to the present time ; the records of the Church as far as they extend ; the records of the Board of Trustees, and various packages of old deeds, wills, letters, &c., &c., have been carefully examined. It is much to be regretted that the records of the Church, extending from the year 1696 to the time of the Revolutionary war, were destroyed when the British troops had possession of the town in 1776, and those which remain date back only to August, 1781, after Dr. Macwhorter's return from the South.
It seems necessary to say a word respecting the ef- forts of this venerable pastor to preserve the Church's history, when it seemed passing into hopeless oblivion. Dr. Macwhorter's Century Sermon has been the author- ity for most of the statements which have been made since his time. Besides this, however, he wrote two
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PREFACE.
other sketches-one in the introduction to the first volume of the Sessional Records, and the other in re- sponse to a call from the General Assembly for mate- rials for a History of the Presbyterian Church. This last is the one quoted by Dr. Hodge in his "Constitu- tional History," under the title of " Manuscript History of Dr. Macwhorter," and is referred to in this narrative under the same name. All these sketches contain material errors. Dr. M., as he informs us, relied for his authority chiefly upon tradition. "All I can say," says he, "must consist of a few brief hints, as I possess no documents or written materials whence even those hints are derived, except what have been taken from the relations of old people to me in former times. Therefore it must not be expected that they will be very accurate, nor will I vouch for the perfect truth of all that may be said." As a specimen of this inaccur- acy, I may refer to what he says of the influence of the Saybrook Platform in shaping the affairs of this Church, years before that platform was framed ; or to the case of the Rev. Mr. Bowers, whom he represents as having been dismissed for reasons not now known, and to have died in 1721, in his thirty-fourth year ; whereas his tomb-stone shows that he died in the year 1716, in his forty-third year, and the records of the town plainly indicate that he retained the pastoral
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PREFACE.
office till his decease. Dr. Macwhorter's narratives are valuable, but of course cannot be relied upon, wherever unquestionable documents contradict their statements.
In preparing these discourses, the writer has received valuable assistance from William A. Whitehead, Esq., Dr. S. H. Pennington, Mr. James Ross, Rev. William E. Schenck, Rev. James Richards, D. D., Rev. Richard Webster, Rev. Stephen Dodd of East Haven, Rev. Lyman Atwater, D. D., of Fairfield, Conn., and Rev. Samuel Sewall of Burlington, Mass. ; but especially from Mr. S. H. Congar, the indefatigable antiquarian of New- ark. The map and its explanations are Mr. Congar's. His thanks are due to Rev. Dr. Hodge, for the use of manuscripts belonging to him as historian of the Presbyterian Church, and to Rev. Dr. James W. Alex- ander, for the use of letters respecting Rev. Aaron Burr, and the Latin oration of the learned President, to which reference has been made in these pages.
It can hardly be presumed that perfect accuracy has been secured amidst so many minute particulars. But, accidental errors excepted, the statements, it is believed, will be found reliable. Wherever an opinion has been expressed, it has been introduced distinctly as an opin- ion, and will pass for what it is worth. Where tradi- tionary statements have been made, their source has
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PREFACE.
been indicated. In general, wherever any doubt has existed respecting any fact or representation, the authority has been referred to, that the reader may weigh it for himself.
With these explanations, the following pages are committed to the judgment of the candid. If the result shall be to preserve the memory of a most worthy race of men, and the early fortunes of a most useful Christian organization; if the spirit of the fa- thers may thereby be transferred to the children, not only of this but of succeeding generations, and thus a benefit conferred on a beloved Church, for whose spiritual good it is the writer's pleasure to labor, his efforts will be more than compensated.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE I.
Introduction. Relations of Church and Town. Causes of the settlement of Newark. Affairs in New Haven and Connecticut. State of the Province of New Jersey. The Concessions. Purchase of Newark Township. "Fun- damental Agreement." Object of the settlers. Internal Regulations. The name "Newark." Origin of the Church. Ministry of Abraham Pierson, senior. His origin, and Missionary labors. Character of the leading men in the Settlement. Wholesome Regulations. The Civil and Divine Right. Prompt payment of quit-rents. Collision with the Proprietary Government of New Jersey. Defence of Rights against Proprietary Encroachment. Conquest of the Province by the Dutch. Usurpation of Andros. Treat- ment of the Indians. First Meeting-house erected. Death of Abraham Pierson, senior. Ministry of Abraham Pierson, junior. Glimpse of the Congregation. Meeting-house fortified, and the worshippers armed. Death of many of the first settlers. Dismission of Abraham Pierson, junior. His Character. Conclusion. (pp. 1-93.)
DISCOURSE II.
Introduction. Second generation of the men of Newark. Ministry of John Prudden. His origin and settlement. His dismission and retirement from the Ministry. Origin of the Parsonage property. Ministry of Jabez Wakeman. His character and early death. Samuel Whittlesy is invited to become Pastor, and declines. Oppressive and vexatious conduct of Lord Cornbury. Rev. Francis Makemie finds sympathizers in Newark. Minis- try of Nathaniel Bowers. Erection of the second Meeting-house. First Church in Orange organized. Ministry of Joseph Webb. Introduction of Presbyterianism. The Church joins the Presbytery of Philadelphia. State of the Presbyterian Churches. Difficulties about candidates for the Minis- try. About Government. The "Adopting Act." Modifications and ex- planations of that Act. Presbytery of East Jersey. Dutch Congregation at Belleville gathered. Introduction of Episcopacy in New Jersey. Trinity Church organized. Col. Josiah Ogden's relations with it. Episcopal con- troversy. Mr. Webb's dismission. His death and character. Concluding remarks. (pp. 95-149.)
.
.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
DISCOURSE III.
Ministry of Aaron Burr. His origin, early education and conversion. His call and settlement. Revival of religion in his congregation. Whitefield's first visit. Burr's character as a Preacher and Pastor. His call to New Haven. Ordination of David Brainerd as Missionary to the Indians of New Jersey. Presbytery of New York formed. The Great Schism in the Pres- byterian Church. Causes of it. Attempts at mediation. Remonstrance of the Presbytery of New York. Separation. Formation of the Synod of New York. " Old side" and "New side." College of New Jersey founded. Its first Charter and beginnings at Elizabethtown. Temporary suspension of the Enterprise. New Charter obtained. College founded anew. Opened at Newark. Burr appointed its President. Its first Commencement. Pros- perity of the College under President Burr. Mr. Burr's marriage. Char- acter of Mrs. Burr. Trustees of the Church incorporated. Prosperity of the Synod of New York. Mr. Burr's influence in it. Secular prosperity of Newark. Mr. Burr's dismission, and the removal of the College to Prince- ton. Death of President Burr. Ministry of John Brainerd. Uncertainty about it. Ministry of Alexander Macwhorter. His early life and education. His entrance on the Ministry. His call and settlement in Newark. Con- tentions about Parsonage property. Disposition of the question in dispute. Macwhorter's early Ministry. Attachment of the people to him. His mis- sionary excursions, His estimation with his brethren. American Revolu- tion. Day of Fasting and Thanksgiving. Army in Newark. Macwhorter follows the army. Parsonage house rifled by the enemy. Macwhorter's removal to North Carolina. His return and re-settlement. Newark recov- ers its prosperity. Revival of 1784. Improvement in Church Discipline. State of the Congregation. House of worship repaired. Present house of worship erected. New mode of electing Trustees. Church in Bloomfield gathered. Dr. Macwhorter's standing in the Church at large. General As- sembly of the Presbyterian Church formed. Baptist and Methodist Denom- inations introduced into Newark. Character, Last Days and Decease of Dr. Macwhorter. His Funeral and Epitaph. "(pp. 151-261.)
DISCOURSE IV.
Introduction. Ministry of Edward Dorr Griffin. Mr. Griffin's Origin, Education and Conversion. His Licensure; Ordination in New Hartford, Conn .; Marriage; Temporary Labors in Orange, N. J., and Settlement in Newark. Griffin's early views. His animating presages. His early reli- gious experiences. His early Interview with Mr. Richards. New Parson-
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIII
age House built. Revival of 1807. Dr. Griffin's Dismission. Subsequent life, and Character. James Richards. His early life. Ministry at Morristown. Removal to Newark. Presbytery of Jersey. Plan for new Churches. Second Presbyterian Church. First Sabbath School. Revivals. Prevalence of Intemperance. Discouraging appearances. Removal of Dr. Richards. His character. Parallel between Griffin and Richards. Synod of New Jersey. William T. Hamilton's ministry. Third Presbyterian Church formed. Final settlement of Church Property. Presbytery of Newark. Revival of 1832. New Churches. Ansel D. Eddy's ministry. Synod of Newark. Synod of New York and New Jersey. New Churches. Statistical Summary. Concluding Remarks. Appendix. (pp. 262-311.) 1
ERRATA.
Page 12, note, line 2, for "Pan," read Pau.
" 17, line 8, for "friends," should probably be read freemen, though it is "friends" in the manuscript copy of the Town Records.
17, line 12, the word "determine" closes the quotation.
" 19, for "1767," read 1677.
20, note, line 4, for "north-west" read north-east. ยท
32, note, 2d column, line 3, for " his," read whose ; and line 4, before "married," insert was.
" 36, note, 1st column, line 26, for "Milford," read Branford.
lines 27 and 28, for " Turner," read turner.
" 73, title, for " Mornings," read morning.
146, note, 2d column, line 7, " Memento Mori" is to be enclosed in marks of quotation, as a part of the inscription.
" 286, title, for "Prespyterian," read Presbyterian.
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSES ..
DISCOURSE NUMBER I.
ECCLESIASTES, I: 4. One generation passeth away and another generation cometh.
THERE are certain marked periods in the progress of human affairs, when it specially becomes the voyager to consult his chart, take an observation and consider whither he is going, and how far, and with what suc- cess, he has proceeded ; and this is true equally of communities as of individuals. Such a period may the present be regarded in the history of this congrega- tion.
Without discussing the much disputed question, whether, in numbering the years of a century, we count one when the first year begins, or not till the clock of time has struck one, and the first annual pe- riod is completed, it is enough for our purpose, that the beginning of the present year completes half a century, since the history of this Church was last traced, in a century discourse by the venerable MAC- WHORTER, and just sixty years since the house where we are now assembled was first opened for public worship. Such an occasion I am unwilling to let slip, without at least reminding you that there is a Past to be re- viewed with interest and gratitude, though on many
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RELATIONS OF CHURCH AND TOWN.
points, I can scarcely do more than refresh the memo- ries of the old, and stimulate the inquiries of the young respecting matters better known to most of you than they are or can be to me.
The fortunes of this venerable Church were, for many years, almost identical with that of the commu- nity in the midst of which it has so long flourished. Whoever writes the history of the city of Newark, must begin, if he will do any justice to his subject, with tracing the early history of this congregation ; and in undertaking to give any thing like a correct view of the latter, it will be necessary to detail and explain many things, which may seem to belong more appropriately to the former. Indeed, although, theo- retically, there was a distinction made from the begin- ning between civil and ecclesiastical affairs, yet in prac- tice, it would be difficult to describe the line, between at least the temporalities of the Church, and the ordi- nary business of the body politic. During the first seventy years, the town transacted all the busi- ness of the congregation ; and the seventh minister, as were all his predecessors, was called to the office and had his salary fixed, by a vote of the town in town meeting. This Church is among the very oldest of our local institutions-perhaps the oldest of all. It was to establish it, and establish, under its fostering influence, a system of social order, of which its members should have the sole direction, that the fathers of this city came and planted themselves here in the wilderness.
The original settlement of Newark was made, by a
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POLICY OF NEW HAVEN COLONY.
colony from what is now the State of Connecticut, then recently erected into a single Province, by a royal charter, uniting the two Colonies of Connecticut and New Haven.
To a large portion of the people of New Haven Colony, this union was exceedingly offensive. Besides being brought about in a very arbitrary manner, with- out due consultation with them, and, in the first in- stance, against their consent, it involved the abandon- ment of some of their favorite principles. They had commenced their settlement in the wilderness, full of the spirit of that animating vision, which continually floated before the mind of the Puritan emigrant, to found a Church upon pure principles, and a State which, though separate in its jurisdiction, should act in perfect harmony with the Church, and be governed in all its procedure by the rules of GOD's Holy Word. They seem to have supposed, that by bringing up their children in the fear of GOD, and excluding from the exercise of power among them those who were not governed by the same principles, they might continue to be of one heart from generation to generation ; and " seeing they were free to cast themselves into that mould and form of commonwealth which appeared best for them, in reference to securing the peace and peaceable improvement of all Christ's ordinances in the Church," " it is scarcely strange that they adopted as a fundamental rule, after long deliberation, with not a single dissenting and only one questioning voice among them, "that Church members only shall be free
* Trumbull, vol. 1, p. 504.
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POLICY OF CONNECTICUT COLONY.
burgesses ; and that they only shall choose magistrates and officers among themselves, to have power of trans- acting all public and civil affairs of this plantation." For the government of a great State or nation, em- bracing men of every class and character, and offering to all the best privileges and the largest liberty, this exclusive policy would be doubtless unwise; but for an infant colony, where all were of one mind, and which might afterwards grow into a State, if hostile influences could be long enough averted, for the body to acquire strength, we ought to think long before we condemn it. Beyond a question, it was the only means by which the colonists could hope to realize their fa- vorite object ; and if that object itself must now be pronounced chimerical, all good men must agree, that. it was noble in purpose, and worthy of being fairly tried, by those who had confidence in it, under the only circumstances which could justify the experiment.
The people of Connecticut Colony, though they had not abandoned at all the same general object, had adopted, in their Constitution, a more liberal policy. Had they gone a step further, and, besides allow- ing men not connected with the Church to vote in civil affairs, prohibited the civil authority from interfering in any manner with the affairs of the Church, a com- parison must have been made in their favor under the light which modern experience has thrown upon mat- ters of this kind. But through neglect of this precau- tion, they not only left the religious character of the State to its own risks, but seriously endangered the Church's purity : a hazard which their more cautious
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EFFECT OF UNITING THE COLONIES.
neighbors of New Haven might well appreciate, when they found the General Court of that Colony both leading the way for the convening of an ecclesiastical Council,* against their strenuous remonstrances, and combining its influence with that of other secular bodies to procure the adoption of innovations in eccle- siastical order and discipline, which, as time has since proved, were of dangerous, not to say pernicious, ten- dency. The accomplished WINTHROP was doubtless a better statesman, in the ordinary sense, than the pa- triarchal DAVENPORT; but having the same professed end in view-the establishment of a Christian Com- monwealth-he ought to have perceived that the omission of the restriction in question would require some corresponding measure of protection for the Church's interests. If the civil authority must be al- lowed to interfere in matters of religion, we cannot wonder that the fathers of the Church looked with jealous eye on the admission of merely worldly men, and perhaps among them the intolerant advocates of the ecclesiastical policy from whose abuses they had fled, to participate in such authority. Indeed, if this were the only alternative which the times afforded, we of the present day can hardly refrain from giving our ver- dict in favor of these same stern old adherents to the ancient way.
It was manifest that the union of the two Colonies, in the existing circumstances, must have the effect to compel the people of New Haven to abandon without further trial this their cherished principle. It likewise
* The Council convened at Boston 1657. Trumbull's Hist. Conn., vol. 1, pp. 300, 308.
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STATE INTERFERENCE WITH RELIGION.
involved a virtual assent to the proceedings of the re- cent Synod,* called by the authorities of a neighboring Province, but highly approved and likely to be recog- nised as authority by the Government of Connecticut, in which, among other innovations, the "half-way covenant," as it was termed, had been adopted-that is, the extension of a part of the privileges of church- membership to those who were not, and by their want of personal piety, could not become members in full communion : an expedient to which the Churches of New Haven Colony were from the beginning stren- uously opposed. Already had the General Court of Connecticut given its sanction to the offensive measure ; and it may serve to illustrate both the temper of the times and the grounds on which the union of the two Colonies was opposed by the people of New Haven, that in the year 1664, in the very midst of the dispute on this subject, this same General Court " came to a resolve, with a view to enforce the resolution of the Synod" respecting the terms of church-membership, in the Churches within the bounds of their jurisdic- tion.+
It was mainly the dissatisfaction arising out of this course of measures, which led to the settlement of the town of Newark. There were, among the emigrants, those who might have been disposed to favor the union on general grounds. Jasper Crane, one of the fathers of New Haven Colony, who, in the year 1639, sub- scribed its original Constitution in Mr. Newman's
* The Synod of 1662, Trumbull's Hist. Conn., vol. 1, p. 310
+ Trumbull, vol. 1, p. 311.
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DISCONTENT IN NEW HAVEN COLONY.
barn, and had for several successive years served as one of its magistrates, was, in the year 1663, chosen to the same office in both the Colonies, and, when the union was effected in the year 1665, received the same token of confidence under the new charter. Matthew Cam- field and Obadiah Bruen were among the nineteen persons named in the charter itself. Robert Treat, the pioneer of the new settlement, refused to accept office under the falling government of his own Colony in the year 1664, and, in the following year, acted as a committee to consummate the union. Had proper regard been paid in the beginning to the rights of the smaller Colony, and proper time been taken for the adjustment of the points of difference, there is little doubt that the union might have been effected amicably. But when, against the remon- strances, and in violation of the sacred pledges of the illustrious Winthrop, the people of Connecticut be- gan to assume a tone of authority toward their neigh- bors, insisted upon their accession to the union, sent magistrates to obstruct the execution of the laws, and received under their own jurisdiction such of the in- habitants as were disposed to join them-thus dis- membering the little Colony and putting power into the hands of its internal enemies, "as if," say the ag- grieved, "you were in haste to make us miserable," bitter resistance was the inevitable result .* And though most of them yielded to what had now become a plain matter of necessity, and for the general good, they yielded as men who had in mind a better and more
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