USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > New Brunswick > Historical discourse delivered at the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Reformed Dutch Church, New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 1867 > Part 1
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PUNICAL
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FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J. DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 27, 1812.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE
DELIVERED AT THE
CELEBRATION
OF THE
ne
150 th hundred and
iftieth
Annibersarn
OF THE
1st
FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH,
NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J.,
OCTOBER 1, 1867.
BY
RICHARD H. STEELE, D. D.,
PASTOR OF THE CHURCHI.
974.902 n425
. NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J. : PUBLISHED BY THE CONSISTORY.
1867.
JOHN A. ORAY & GREEN, PRINTERS, 18 AND 18 JACOB STREET, NEW-YORK.
1765882
PREFACE.
-
THE First Reformed Dutch Church of New-Brunswick, N. J., completed her One Hundred and Fiftieth year, April 12th, 1867. The precise date of organization was not ascertained until quite recently. No written history of the church has ever been published. The task would have been one of comparative ease fifty years ago. Then the children of the early settlers were still living ; records were in existence which have since perished with the disuse of the Dutch language ; and important documents which would have been of great value in forming our narrative have been lost or destroyed. The recovery of our early book of records, incomplete as it is, has been of incalculable benefit. But I have searched in vain for publications of Rev. Mr. Leydt, Jacobus Schureman, Hendrick Fisher, and papers relating to the controversies during the times of Rev. T. J. Frelinghuysen, which are known to have been in existence at the beginning of the century.
We have endeavored to produce a history during a long period when there were no records of consistory kept, and have gathered many of our facts from traditions which yet remain with some distinctness among the peo-
·
iv
PREFACE.
ple. Our work is not complete, but that we have given to it no small amount of labor will be understood by those who have undertaken similar productions. It will be found to present many facts extending beyond our par- ticular church, and embrace materials relating to the town of interest to all our citizens.
The pastor would express his particular acknowledg- ments to his own people who have kindly assisted him in his investigations, and have directed him to sources of im- portant information. He has found the volumes of Wil- liam A. Whitehead, Esq., and the Historical Discourse of Rev. Mr. Corwin, of great value in compiling the early part of his narrative. He is indebted to the publications of Dr. Messler and Rev. William Demarest, in writing his history of the life and ministry of Rev. Mr. Frelinghuy- sen. Dr. W. B. Sprague has kindly given him access to his unpublished volume of the biographies of ministers of the Reformed Dutch Church, which we hope will soon be issued from the press. His thanks are due to Rev. Mr. Demarest, for translations from the Dutch of letters of Jufvrow Hardenbergh, and for extracts from her journal ; to Mrs. Hanson, for important information in reference to her father, Dr. Condict ; to Hon. Ralph Voorhees, for pa- pers relating to his ancestor, Minne Van Voorhees, and for the draft prepared by himself and Mr. N. W. Par- sells, from which was produced the accurate sketch, by Mr. Thomas N. Doughty, of the "Old Stone Church" erected in 1767, and which gave such interest to our An- niversary ; to Mr. John W. Warnshuise, for his assistance in translating our early Dutch records ; and to the surviv- ing pastors especially for their information and encou- ragement in preparing the history.
The Historical Discourse, which comprises the main body of this volume, owes its publication to the following
PREFACE.
action of Consistory, communicated through a committee appointed for that purpose :
"NEW-BRUNSWICK, October 8, 1867. " REV. RICHARD H. STEELE, DD. :
"DEAR SIR : By the unanimous resolution of Consistory, we hereby thank you for the valuable and interesting Historical Discourse delivered October 1st, 1867, on the occasion of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of our church, and request you to furnish a copy for publi- cation, with suitable notes and appendices, together with the sermon preached on the succeeding Sabbath.
" Very sincerely yours, LEWIS APPLEGATE, JOHNSON LETSON."
The Anniversary was celebrated on the day mentioned in the above note, with suitable commemorative exercises. Invitations had been extended to former members of the congregation and their descendants, to unite with us in the services connected with this interesting occasion. On the morning of that day the following Discourse was in part delivered ; but as the material which had been gath- ered was deemed too important to be lost, it is now com- mitted to the press as it was originally prepared.
The account of the celebration, with the addresses de- livered on the occasion, forming the second part of this volume, was prepared under the direction of the commit- tee, and will be found a correct transcript of an Anniver- sary long to be remembered.
The pastor sends forth this volume among his people and the friends of the church, with the prayer that this humble effort to produce the history of one of the most important congregations of our denomination, may be the means of awakening within us a new sense of our respon- sibility to the Lord Jesus Christ, and serve to advance the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom.
PARSONAGE HOUSE, No. 106 GEORGE STREET,
NEW-BRUNSWICK, N. J., December 1, 1867.
One hundred and iftieth Anniversary
OF THE
FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH,
NEW-BRUNSWICK, OCTOBER 1, 1867.
The following was the Order of Exercises :
Invocation and Reading the Scriptures. REV. GABRIEL LUDLOW, D.D.
Prayer. REV. ISAAC FERRIS, D.D.
Singing. Celebration Hymn, Written by REV. PETER STRYKER, D.D.
Historical Discourse. REV. RICHARD H. STEELE, D.D. Singing. Ode, Written by PROF. DAVID MURRAY.
Benediction. REV. THOMAS DE WITT, D.D.
AFTERNOON. Anthem. BY THE CHOIR. Addresses. REV. THOMAS DE WITT, D.D.
REV. S. M. WOODBRIDGE, D.D.
REV. CHARLES S. HAGEMAN, D.D.
REV. WILLIAM H. CAMPBELL, D.D.
REV. P. D. VAN CLEEF, D.D.
REV. DAVID D. DEMAREST, D.D. Poem. PROF. DAVID MURRAY. Prayer. REV. P. D. OAKEY.
Doxology. Benediction.
EVENING.
Reading the Scriptures and Prayer. REV. PROF. JOSEPH F. BERG, D.D. Singing. The Third Jubilee, Written by REV. JOHN B. STEELE.
„ Address. By Senior Ex-Pastor REV. ISAAC FERRIS, D.D. Doxology. Benediction.
PART FIRST.
SUCCESSION OF PASTORS, AND
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE,
BY
RICHARD H. STEELE D.D.
SUCCESSION OF PASTORS
OF THE
FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH,
NEW-BRUNSWICK.
1. THEODORUS JACOBUS FRELINGHUYSEN, 1720 to 1748.
2. JOHANNES LEYDT, 1748 " 1783.
3. JACOB RUTSEN HARDENBERGH, D.D., 1786 " 1790.
4. IRA CONDICT, D.D., 1793 " 1811.
5. JOHN SCHUREMAN, D.D., 1812 " 1813.
6. JESSE FONDA, 1813 " 1817.
7. JOHN LUDLOW, D.D., 1817 " 1819.
8. ISAAC FERRIS, D.D., 1831 " 1824.
9. JAMES B. HARDENBERGH, D.D., 1825 " 1829.
10. JACOB J. JANEWAY, D.D., . 1830 " 1831.
11. SAMUEL B. HOW, D.D., 1832 " 1861.
12. RICHARD H. STEELE, D.D., 1863.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
THE Scottish Pilgrim, it is said, in a spirit of pious veneration, visited the graves of those who had died martyrs of religion. His purpose was to refresh his own mind, and revive in the hearts of his countrymen the record of their noble lives, their heroic endurances, and their triumphant deaths. With engraver's chisel, he went from churchyard to churchyard over that land of martyrs, and on the fading stone he reproduced the record of their names, their sufferings, and their renown. Our undertaking this morning will resemble that of " Old Mortality ;" for we are to recall the names and re- vive the record of a noble race of men, who, more than one hundred and fifty years ago, laid the foundation of our civil and religious institutions, and whose early sac- rifices and toils, and earnest piety and devotion, should be held by us in sacred remembrance.
I am to give you a sketch of the history of the origin, the progress, the struggles, and the triumphs of the Re- formed Protestant Dutch Church of New-Brunswick. This is the oldest religious organization in this city, re- liable authorities fixing its origin in the early part of the last century, and making it coeval with the first settlement of this locality. The period itself is remote and interesting. The most wonderful movements of Divine Providence in the civil and ecclesiastical his-
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
tory of the world were centring around this period, giving an impulse to emigration, and marking out the distinctive character of the early settlers. In England, the nation had not yet subsided from that mighty civil commotion which had elevated William, Prince of Orange, to the throne, and reasserted the supremacy of those fundamental laws of the land which had so long and tyrannically been disregarded by the reigning power. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes, under Louis XIV., had driven into exile more than five hun- dred thousand of the most industrious and learned citi- zens of France, who carried with them the higher type of civilization and religion in which the Protestants greatly excelled, into those countries which they se- lected as their homes. The Dutch Republic, though shorn of its maritime strength, had obtained a supre- macy in literature and religion, as well as in its system of civil toleration, which rendered it the model govern- ment of the world.
Matthew Henry had not yet completed his Expo- sition of the Bible. James Saurin had only recently commenced the labors of the ministry at the Hague. John Wesley had not yet been raised up to stem the prevailing tide of formalism. In Holland, her divines were justly celebrated for their extensive learning and deep piety, while her universities and schools attracted students from all parts of the world. The celebrated Marck, in his theological chair at Leyden, made this university one of the most renowned on the continent of Europe. Vitringa, noted for his accurate interpreta- tions of the Bible and his eloquence as a preacher, gave celebrity to the institution at Francker. At Utrecht, some of the most brilliant lights shone from the chairs of theology and literature. And in the pulpit we find
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
the names of such distinguished divines as Brakel, Van- derkemp, and Hellenbrook, whose sound views of truth and deep learning still shine conspicuously in their voluminous theological writings. The first English copy of the Bible had just been published in the Ameri- can Colonies. The third college had just been founded at New-Haven ; one newspaper, published on a half-sheet of foolscap, was regularly issued at Boston; the largest city was New-York, a hamlet of about six thousand inhabitants; and the total population of the .colonies had not yet reached five hundred thousand. There were a few towns located in the Province of New- Jersey, and only two ministers of our denomination in the State .*
In compiling the history of this church, I have labored under the difficulty experienced in other quarters, of the imperfection of early Consistorial records and the loss of important documents. By diligent search I have re- covered possession of a volume in the Dutch language, which had been lost for upward of thirty years, con- taining much valuable information. Some important facts are stated in reference to the origin of this church, as also that of Six Mile Run. It contains the names of the first Consistory, a complete list of the original mem- bers, a register of the additions to the church at each communion, and a full record of baptisms. The first entry in this volume bears the date of April 12th, 1717, and we are celebrating the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Reformed Dutch Church of New-Brunswick. It is to be regretted that the proceedings of Consistory were not more carefully
* Rev. Guilliam Bertholf was the minister of the church at Hackensack and Aquackononck from 1694 to 1724; and Rev. Joseph Morgan was set- tled at Freehold and Middletown from 1709 to 1731.
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
recorded and preserved, in the absence of which we shall have to depend upon such facts as we can glean from the published minutes of ecclesiastical bodies, the historical incidents found in early records, and the tra- ditions of the people.
Previous to commencing the history of the church, I will be expected to give a succinct sketch of the settle- ment and development of the civil history of this city and country adjacent. My labor will consist in arrang- ing materials already in existence, and in bringing to light some facts which are concealed in civil and eccle- siastical documents.
The earliest instrument fixing the boundary of the State of New-Jersey is a deed or conveyance granted by the Duke of York, June 23d, 1664, to two proprie- tors, Sir James Berkley and Sir George Carteret. In the following year, Philip Carteret, brother of Sir George, came over as governor of this province, and de- vised liberal plans for the encouragement of emigration. His plans were successful, and many families from New- England, enticed by the liberal constitution which he had framed, took up lands, and made this their home. These settlements were principally made in that portion of the territory which was most convenient of access from New-York. The south side of the Raritan river was not settled until about twenty years after a large emigration from New-England had purchased lands and located in the towns of Bergen, Woodbridge, Piscata- way, and Elizabethtown. About this time a small colony located at Shrewsbury, and several families from Long Island settled at Middletown, in the county of Monmouth. These were the principal settlements up to this date in this section of the State.
On the death of Sir George Carteret, in 1679, the
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
whole of East-Jersey passed into the hands of his executors, who continued to carry forward the govern- ment for the benefit of his estate, until a sale of the property should be accomplished according to the pro- visions of his will. This sale was effected in 1682, to a company of twelve proprietors, for the sum of £3400. In order to divide up their interests, and spread infor- mation respecting their possessions, twelve additional partners were received into the company, to which board as now constituted the Duke of York made a new grant, March 14th, 1682. Previous to this new arrangement, and while East New-Jersey was still in the possession of the executors of Sir George Carteret, a portion of the territory on which the city of New- Brunswick now stands, and above us on the south side of the Raritan, was surveyed and laid out into lots. It is to the credit of the early proprietors of our State that the land was purchased of the Indians by honorable and voluntary transactions, and thus the settlers were saved from the jealousies and dangers which other portions of the American Colonies experienced. Such a purchase was made in June, 1681, by John Inians & Co., for the benefit of Lady Elizabeth Carteret, "the present lady proprietrix of the province," of a tract of land embrac- ing about ten thousand acres, called by the Indians Ahanderhamock .* This tract of land is described in the Indian deed as lying on the south side of the Rari- tan river, and opposite the town of Piscataway, under-
The purchase was made of the Indians Quaramark, Sacamaker, and Camacamo, representing the Queramacks and Camacoms. The amount paid was 200 fathoms of white wampum, 10 blankets, 20 Duffield coats, 10 guns, 10 kettles-two of them eight gallons-26 yards stroud waters (?), 25 axes, 20 pairs of stockings, 20 shirts, 5 made coats, 4 pistols, 60 bars of lead, { barrel powder, 25 pairs tobacco tongs, 2 ankers of rum, 2 half- fatts of beer, ¿ anker of molasses, 1 tramel, 60 knives, 20 tobacco boxes, 25 shot, { cwt. of bread .- See Records of Proprietors, Amboy, vol. ii. lib. i. p. 152.
14
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
stood to commence at what is now called Lawrence brook, and running along the river to near Boundbrook. A portion of this territory was shortly after surveyed and sold to different parties, and were subsequently known as the Raritan lots.
November 10th, 1681, John Inians," one of this com- pany, and a merchant of New-York, purchased a por- tion of this tract containing twelve hundred and eighty acres, bounded on the north-east by the Raritan river, on the west by Andrew Bowne, south-east and south- west by land not yet surveyed.+ This was the first purchase of land in what is now the city of New- Brunswick, the line of which is still preserved in some of our ancient deeds. The starting-point was a white oak-tree standing at the foot of Albany street, opposite the Bell tavern; thence up the river one mile to a point near the residence of J. Warren Scott, Esq .; thence in a south-westerly direction for two miles, or near the pro- perty known as the Brunson tavern; thence one mile south-easterly to a point intersecting the Trenton turn. pike; thence two miles north-easterly, entering the city along Livingston avenue, to the starting-point at the foot of Albany street. The ten lots immediately north of Inians's patent contained each five hundred acres.
* John Inians, of Raritan river, was appointed a member of Governor Hamilton's Council on September 14th, 1692. ( Whitehead's East-Jersey, p. 134.) Nothing is known of his place of residence or his history ; but that he was a very extensive purchaser of lands, and a man of great wealth for the times, is inferred from his large transactions found on the Records of Proprietors at Amboy, and volumes of deeds at Trenton.
+ It is described as beginning at a white oak-tree, from thence running as the river runs eighty chains, thence running south-west one hundred and sixty chains, thence south-east eighty chains, thence two miles to the tree from whence it first began. The land extending west of the Raritan lots, embracing nearly all the original territory of the Three Mile Run, New- Brunswick, and Six Mile Run congregations, was laid out into four large plots, for a description of which see Appendix I., furnished by Rev. Mr. Corwin.
# They were owned by Andrew Bowne, Richard Jones, George Foreman, Joseph Snelling, Andrew Gibb, Gershom Browne, Jeremiah Tothill, Joseph
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
South of the city, Thomas Lawrence owned three thou- sand acres, embracing the stream which since his pur- chase has been called Lawrence brook. This tract of land subsequently came into the possession of Cornelius Longfield* and Governor Barclay, while that of Inians was purchased by Philip French,t under whose super- vision farms were surveyed, streets laid out, and build- ing-lots sold.
The government of the twenty-four proprietors was so liberal, and contrasted so favorably with the adjoin- ing province of New-York, that settlers began to pour in from every direction, and for the next twenty years the population increased with great rapidity. The landholders used every effort to induce emigration by the liberal terms they offered, the glowing accounts they sent abroad of the salubrity of the climate, the productiveness of the soil, and the peaceful character of the natives. The original settlers in our immediate vicinity were Dutch ¿ and French Protestants, or Hu-
Benbrigge, Thomas Mathew, and Edmond Gibbon. The map of Mr. Corwin, giving the Raritan lots, was compiled from Reed's map, 1685, four years after the original purchase, and indicates the rapid changes which were now taking place, as they had nearly all passed into new hands.
* This land, constituting a part of the lower section of the city, Longfield purchased June 6th, 1689, described as lying on the Raritan river, opposite a meadow or marsh belonging to Charles Gilman, about one chain and a half below where a small run of water or brook falls into said river, from thence running south to a brook called Lawrence brook, and by the Indians Piscopock, from thence running down said Lawrence brook to the Raritan river, and along the Raritan to the place of beginning. John Ryder bought one hundred and fifty-four acres of Longfield, March 11th, 1741, which farm is still owned by his descendants .- Parchment Deed of - Ryder.
t He owned a large tract opposite the city and in the vicinity. Instead of selling the property he ordinarily leased it, in some instances for two thousand years. Through reverses during the Revolutionary War he became involved, and assigned his estate to James Parker, whose son, Hon. James Parker, Jr., of Amboy, gave to the trustees of Queen's College the lot on which the present buildings stand.
į In a letter to the proprietors, March, 1684, Gawen Lowrie represents the Dutch settlers as very numerous, and speaks of a number who are de- siring to take up land and settle in the province .- Whitehead's East-Jersey, p. 289.
Several Dutch families are known to have settled on the Raritan very
16
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
guenots,* and we can fix the date of their occupancy of this territory as early as 1684. The country back of us, covering the rich farming lands of Three Mile Run, Middlebush, Six Mile Run, and onward to the Mill- stone, and both above and below us on the Raritan, was filled up when the central portion of our town was only known after the name of its proprietor as "Prig- more's Swamp." Early residents, in writing to their friends at home, represent the Dutch settlers along the Raritan as quite numerous and industrious. They were principally from Long Island and places adjacent. The prevailing cause of their emigration was the discontent that existed among them in consequence of the oppres- sive measures pursued by the civil authorities, in vex- ing them in reference to their religious preference and belief. These harsh measures drove out of Long Island and the vicinity of New-York a large population, who found in this territory, under the more judicious tolera- tion of the proprietors, perfect religious freedom, and room for their love of honest industry.
There were other inducements inviting into our State the Hollanders from New-York. Their motive in emigration from the fatherland was different from that which prevailed with the Puritans of New-England, and the Scotch and Irish Presbyterians who settled in other localities. The latter were driven out of their country by persecution, and sought in the New World freedom in religious worship. The former had enjoyed
early. Hendrick Vroome, at the landing on the farm of the late Mr. Mundy ; George Anderson, on the property recently Dr. McClintock's; the brothers Christopher and Jacob Probasco, on what is now the residence of Mr. Liv- ingston.
* In our early records we find the names of several French emigrants, among them many undoubtedly of the proscribed Huguenot race, who had been expelled from the kingdom on account of their Protestant principles. De Peyster, Rappleyea, Van Duyn, La Montes, Le Queer, La Montague, and others.
17
1
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
ample toleration in their own little republic, and came across the water to "better their condition," and " build up another university that should rival Leyden, and another city that should outshine Amsterdam."# Their youth had been spent in a land which had been rescued from the encroachments of the sea by artificial embank- ments, and they had learned the art of industry long before they had encountered the hardships of this new land. Coming over the water with such intentions, they naturally sought the best soil and climate, and situations where they could build up their institutions with less fear of molestation. All these advantages the Province of New-Jersey afforded, and its very loca- tion reminded them of their former Belgian homes, while the facilities afforded them for sending their pro- duce to the growing markets of Amboyt and New-York by river communication, urged a new motive for their emigration. Proverbially fond of water-courses, and of the flat country which reminded them of their old homes in Holland, they bought farms running down to the Raritan as they had opportunity, and showed their Dutch caution by not getting too far inland.
The earliest reference we have to the particular locality where New-Brunswick now stands is in the
* See "Oration on the Conquest of New-Netherland," before the New- York . Historical Society, by the historian, J. Romeyn Brodhead. He says with great force: "It was for the true interest of America that New-York was founded by the Batavian race. That founding produced our own mag- nanimous and cosmopolitan State, the influence of which on our nation has always been so happy and so healthful."
t The design of the settlers was to make Amboy the first city of New- Jersey-the "London of America." A city charter was granted August 24th, 1718, by Governor Robert Hunter. Its fine harbor, eligible situation, and healthy locality would seem to indicate a rapid growth. But, as the historian Smith remarks in 1765, by a fatality it never became a place of extensive trade. Samuel Groom, the surveyor-general at its first settlement in 1683, with an eye to its future history, laments, " If no help comes, it will be long ere Amboy be built as London is."- Whitehead's Amboy, pp. 2, 6, 50, 54.
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