USA > New Jersey > A history of Baptists in New Jersey > Part 8
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Rev. Oliver Hart followed in December, 1780. He may have been one of the Hopewell Hart family. He was a fellow student with Isaac Eaton and was licensed by the same church and began preaching as had Mr. Eaton. Mr. Hart going to Charleston, S. C., and
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was pastor there for thirty years. He remained pastor at Hopewell till his death in 1795, at the age of seventy-three years. Mr. Edwards writes of him: "All I shall say is, that he is the fittest man I know to succeed Mr. Eaton." The minutes of the Philadelphia Association, 1706, page 323, have this record of Mr. Hart: "It has pleased God, in the year past to remove that burning and shining light, Rev. Oliver Hart of Hopewell, N. J."
In 1796, Rev. James Ewing followed Mr. Hart in the charge of Hopewell church. His pastorate terminated with his death in 1806, at the age of fifty-two years. One hundred and fifty-one were baptized in his pastorate at Hopewell. In 1807, Rev. John Boggs became pastor. He held the office till he died in 1846, at the age of seventy-six.
The account of First Hopewell might close here; since in 1835, First and Second Hopewell and Kingwood withdrew from the central Baptist Association, identifying themselves with an Antinomian body. Kingwood is followed by Baptisttown. Second Hopewell and Kingwood are extinct. Kingwood was pre-eminent among Baptist churches as a Missionary church. It is only a question of time, when First Hopewell will be extinct. This wreck was under the pastorate of Mr. Boggs. He had written circular letters published in the Association minutes, exhorting the churches to sustain missions, only a short time before he piloted the church to ruin. He was a terrific contrast to former pastors. An only explanation of his course was: that he had come to a premature dotage and by his imbecility belied his former teaching, and the whole record of First Hopewell and accepted the teachings of Beebe, Gobel and their kin, in the place of those of the Son of God, whose last words on earth were: "Go ye into all the world. And they went forth and preached everywhere." Such is the sorrowful fact of First Hopewell church. Virtually it is the only one of its kind, left in New Jersey. Nominally there are one or two others sustained by First Hopewell.
But despite its glorious record, for sixty-five years, it has been dwindling. Churches of other denominations have absorbed its fami- lies and grown strong through its lack of Gospel power. Isaac Eaton, Oliver Hart, the Stouts and Hautons and Blackwells, could they know of the ruin that has come to the work of their lives, would be filled with shame. In colonial days as many as five of the chief institutions of learning in America were within a circuit of twenty miles of Hopewell. This eminence of educational facilities, and the colonial guarantees by both Baptist and Quaker proprietors gave to New Jersey the assurance to all settlers, of the precious boon of civil and of religious freedom and of the freest opportunity for expansion in all helpful directions. A further type of the case of the people in this vicinity is that nine
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United States Senators; three nominees for the Vice Presidency of the United States; two Governors of New Jersey: four Chancellors of the State and five signers of the Declaration of Independence, were natives of this neighborhood.
It is the prayer of Baptists that the venerable First Hopewell church will return to her "first love" again, be happy in him who went about doing good. A glorious past, is to her a robe of white, exeept as it has been soiled by associations and which darkens her future. When again, she incorporates the last commission of our Lord into her activities, we will rejoice together in her "walking with God."
Of the beginning of Baptist interests at Kingwood (Baptisttown) Morgan Edwards, writes: "For the origin of this church, we must look back to 1722. When the tract began to be settled by persons, some of whom were Baptists; five of them. Three other Baptists came, in 1734. Mr. Thomas Curtis, a licentiate and a student at Hopewell (poss- ibly a licentiate of Hopewell church). At Kingwood he and the aforesaid Baptists built a small meeting house. The first fruits of his ministry went to Hopewell for baptism. In 1748, James and John Bray and his wife, members of Middletown (living at Holmdel), sons of John Bray who built the third house of worship and parsonage at Holmdel in 1705, arrived, which increased their number to twelve souls. Mr. Curtis visited the lower part of the township (now Kingwood) where another meeting house was built in 1741 on the spot where the present one stands. Here five were baptized by Rev. Joseph Eaton of Hopewell. His next converts in the lower tract were baptized by Rev. Thomas Davis, who succeeded Mr. Eaton at Hopewell. This increased the Baptists to twenty-two and made them think of becoming a dis- tinct society. Having obtained release from Hopewell they were constituted a church July 31st, 1742.
Mr. Curtis was ordained for pastor October, 1745. He died in April, 1749. Mr. Edwards says of him: "He was a steady man and re- markable for peace making. This church speaks of him to this day (Jan- uary, 1790) with great veneration." Well they might. Upon his coming to them he devoted himself to their spiritual welfare. Preach- ing, maintaining meetings and building houses of worship. He was a devoted disciple of the Holy One. Sabbatarians and Dunkards were church members, and as a peace maker he must have been busy. Both Seventh Day Baptists and Dunkards (feet washing Baptists) had colo- nies nearby and were aggressive to win proselytes. More, in the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries, new things of doctrine and of opinion were welcomed by good people as never before. It was a formative period. Luther, Calvin and Armenius were making new formulas and
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theories of all kinds were mooted everywhere. America was a refuge for all dissentients from other dissentients and authorities, civil and religious. An immense mixture of extreemists and positivests inthe religionists coming hither and the new element of liberty to think and to teach, tended to a wider divergence. Baptists have cause for grati- tude, both, that the New Testament was our sole authority for duty and for instruction; that our ministers could thereby command and control these elements of contradiction and settle the foundations of our churches on a scriptural basis.
Then as now, liberty drifted into the license of unrestrained opinion. Liberty of opinion is the most lawless of human rights. Since it has only the moral limit of the right to think and to believe that which it is right to think and to believe and one must determine for himself what is right to think and to believe. The Scriptures being the only authority on all moral questions of right and wrong. Mr. M. Bonham followed Pastor Curtis and was ordained in 1749. Rumors affecting his morality resulted in his exclusion from the church.
After many years Rev. David Sutton entered the pastorate in in 1764, remaining till August, 1783 and proved himself sent of God. Morgan Edwards says of him: "He has often been compared to Nathan- iel of whom it was said, there was no guile in him.'" Mr. Sutton was a son of John Sutton, a constituent of Scotch Plains church. He was a missionary pastor. In 1764, the year of his settling at Kingwood, he made an appointment at Flemington and no doubt influenced Messrs. Lowry and Eddy to give in 1765, (the next year) the lots on which to build a Baptist meeting house; he secured the erection of the house of worship in 1766, within two years of his coming to Kingwood and in his long charge at Kingwood, nearly twenty years preached in the house at Flemington. He was thus the first Baptist preacher at Fleming- ton and laid the foundation for the later growth of Baptist interests there.
Mr. Sutton's successors at Kingwood preached at Flemington, until, and long after the organization of the Flemington church. That body owes all it is to this wonderful man, In November, 1784, Rev. N. Cox settled as pastor. But in April, 1790, he became a Universalist; had he been content with this, none would question his liberty to change his views of truth and duty. He did, however, what he could to destroy the church and get possession of the house of worship. The people repudiated him and he was excluded from the church.
The next five years was a period of discouragement. In October, 1795, Rev. G. A. Hunt became pastor, remaining eleven years, when he quietly disappeared in another evangelical denomination. Like Mr. Sutton and Mr. Cox, Mr. Hunt had a regular appointment in Fleming-
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ton, agreeing when he settled at Kingwood to give one third of his labor and time to Flemington. He baptized several in Flemington who did not join Kingwood church and in 1798, ten members of Kingwood, with those lately baptized at Flemington, were organized into the Flemington church. Mr. Hunt supplied the Flemington church to the close of his charge at Kingwood in 1806 or 7. Rev. James McLaughlin followed Mr. Hunt at Kingwood for one year. Resigning at Kingwood, in 1809, he preached alternately at Kingwood and at Flemington until 1811. When leaving Flemington, he limited himself to Kingwood, resigning at the end of the year. In 1813, Rev. John Ellis entered the pastorate at Kingwood, continuing until 1817. All of these pastors suffered from the blight left upon the church by Mr. Cox and his attempt to destroy its evangelism.
In the spring of 1818, Rev. David Bateman accepted a call to be pastor. In 1819, another church edifice was built (the fourth or fifth) three miles southeast of Baptisttown. For the next two years more than one hundred converts were baptized. A year or more passed, when again there was an extensive revival and many were added to the church by baptism. Mr. Bateman was pastor till his death on August 10th, 1832, at the age of fifty-five years. His death was a providential mystery. As pastor and preacher, he had few superiors. A "supply" ministered after Mr. Bateman's death and later became pastor for about six months.
In October, 1834, Rev. J. W. Wigg became pastor. Soon Anti- nomianism caught root in Kingwood church. Beebe, the anti-mission and anti-temperance apostle with his allies, Gobel, Housel and others, took advantage of a new pastor and prevailed against the Christian activities of those times and forcing action whereby the timid and in- active members were overborne. Under Mr. Bateman, this element had been restrained. But the onslaught of the Antinomians having won victory in North Jersey and had broken up the Warwick Association, was very fierce and the pastor of First Hopewell, John Boggs, yielded to these foes of righteousness and joined in the iniquity, so that First and Second Hopewell and Kingwood churches were swept from their foundations on the Gospel and in 1835, withdrew from the "Central Baptist Association and united with an antinomian body." Mr. Wigg did what he could to save the name and honor of Kingwood church.
In 1838, Mr. Wigg was appointed to write the circular letter of the Anti-mission Association, the theme of which was: "The importance of thorough acquaintance with the Scriptures." This letter was re- jected by the Association as being, "Truth unguarded." Such people had no use for the Bible! An invitation by Pastor Wigg to Evangelist
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F. Ketchum to hold a "Protracted meeting" brought matters to a head. At the next church meeting it was Resolved: That from this time on, Elder Wigg is dismissed from being pastor of this church, in consequence of his departure from the doctrines and practices of this church and his taking liberties with the church, which she never gave him, we are therefore destitute of a pastor and from this day he will not be expected in either house."
A large stone house of worship had formerly been built in a village in the field of the church. Pastor Wigg went on a Lord's Day to preach in this building and he was locked out. This incident gave the name of "Locktown" to the village. At the meeting in which Mr. Wigg was put out of the pastorship, a committee was appointed to "examine preachers and to admit none to preach, but those in fellowship with the Delaware River Baptist Association." The Son of God, the New Testament, and the Gospel were thus shut out. This is Antinomianism. At the same meeting, fifty members were suspended for sympathizing with Pastor Wigg, who was excluded from the church. As an anti- nomian party they claimed both houses of worship."
Those adhering to the old faith and to Baptist practice now set them- selves about organizing a new Kingwood Baptist church and building a house of worship. On April 14th, 1839, sixty members of the original Kingwood church and fifty-two converts recently baptized, in all, one hundred and twelve disciples renewed, "The Missionary particular Bap- tist church of Baptisttown." The disappearance of the late Kingwood Baptist church was restored by a Kingwood Baptist church, which alone could claim the glorious record of former years.
The houses of worship of the lost Kingwood church have been dumb and are, save as the pastor of First Hopewell occasionally preaches at Locktown. The other is a dwelling house and thus has life in it, or is rotting down. How different the end from the beginning of the former Kingwood! Within forty years of its organization, the pastor's salary was five hundred dollars and a parsonage of seventy acres. An income then equal to that given by our wealthiest churches. It had built five houses of worship if not six. One of them at Flemington, in 1766, it had licensed four members to preach and been the mother of four churches: Mt. Olive, 1753; Knollton, 1763; Flemington, 1798; Bethlehem, 1831, and had sent many constitu- ents to Sandy Ridge, and a majority of the constituents of both Second Hopewell and Croton; paying one half the cost of a deserted meeting house in Croton and Baptisttown, 1839-40. Few Baptist churches in New Jersey exceed Kingwood in its mission work in behalf of humanity. Since "the Shadow of Death" has fallen on
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Kingwood in 1835, the withering process has not stayed. It is a "waste".
The later organization retained the old name, Kingwood, and built their meeting house at Baptisttown, inducing afterward a change of name to Baptisttown. Baptisttown was a link to Middletown. John and James Bray lived at Baptisttown (now Holmdel) when the sons moved to Hunterdon county, they named their place Baptisttown, in memory of the old place where they had lived. Mr. Wigg was called to be pastor of the later Kingwood, resigning his charge in 1841. In these two years he welcomed twenty-five by baptism into the church. His successor was an unworthy man and was excluded in 1842. Rev. E. Haydock supplied the church for two years and then he became pastor. In 1844, Rev. C. Fox began his charge remaining until 1850. While pastor, a company of nine members were dismissed who with others constituted the Cherryville church.
Upon the resignation of Mr. Cox, Rev. Thomas Barrass was called. Mr. Barrass was much beloved and had a happy and useful pastorate. Flemington could thus make some glad returns to its mother church. Mr. Barrass resigned in October, 1861. In the spring of 1861, twenty- two members were dismissed to be constituents for Croton church. Re- newed Kingwood seems to have retained the aggressive force of its old time energy and to keep up its usefulness.
November, 1861, Rev. A. Armstrong settled in the pastorate. For many years, pastors of Kingwood had preached at Frenchtown. The State Convention Board from 1859 had occupied the river shore towns, by its missionaries. Under the oversight of Rev. Messrs. G. Penny and of W. D. Hires, a house of worship was built in Frenchtown and dedicated in December, 1861. Whereupon, Mr. Armstrong seeing his opportunity included Frenchtown in his field, preaching there each week. After five years, he resigned and took steps to settle at French- town. Kingwood numbered one hundred and forty-two members; of these seventy-six took letters to constitute a church at Frenchtown.
This was a serious blow to Kingwood. But its inherent vitality restored it. Rev. Samuel Sproul occupied the pastorate in April, 1867 Special revivals attended his labors. A parsonage was built in 1870, and Mr. Sproul closed a most acceptable pastoral charge of seven years. Parting with him was a real cause of grief, sharing with Mr. Barrass in the tender sympathies of his people. With other supplies was Rev. W. E. Watkinson who settled as pastor in April, 1875. He reaped well, closing his charge in November, 1881. Rev. George Young en- tered the pastorate of two years and gave way to his son, G. B. Young, in 1884. During the labors of the son the grounds were im-
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proved and sheds were built to shelter the beasts that brought the people to the house of God, from storm and heat. Mr. Young closed his work at Kingwood in July 1887, and was followed by Rev. S. C. Dare, who stayed two years. In June, 1889, Rev. G. M. Owen accepted a call to be pastor. The name of the church was changed to Baptist- town in 1895. Mr. Owen is now, in 1900, pastor. Eleven years attest the unity of his people in him. A storm gave birth to this re-organized church in 1839, but despite its hindrances and the bitter opposition from without, it has maintained its original type, since its first organi- zation in 1742, and kept up its expansion in local and foreign missions.
Since 1839, the church has dismissed one hundred and seven to share in the organization of other Baptist churches. To Cherryville, Croton, and to Frenchtown, the church has done its full share to provide houses of worship, in concert with other churches. It is a record not to be ashamed of in an isolated rural church of limited membership. Since 1742, twenty pastors have ministered to the church. Mr. Curtis, twelve years till his death; David Sutton, almost twenty; D. Bateman, till he died, fourteen years; G. A. Hunt, eleven years; Thomas Barrass, ten years; S. S. Sproul, seven years; C. Cox, six years. Shorter pastorates, Armstrong and the two Youngs, G. M. Owen, eleven years. The church has built six meeting houses for itself, of which two were erected before 1741. First Hopewell was a wealthy church, and Kingwood nearby. Middletown, Piscataway, Cohansey and their stations, not only wealth but many men of culture and of high social and official position and of political distinction, this the more reflects upon the removing of Hope- well school from the center of the country to an extreme and out of the way place. The Honeywell and the Hubbs legacies, illustrate the blunder and folly of the movement.
It will be presumed from the near vicinity of Kingwood, (now Bap- tisttown) church to Frenchtown and from the early missionary instincts of old Kingwood and of First Hopewell churches, that Frenchtown would have been occupied long since, with local Baptist ministries. But it was new Kingwood ( Baptisttown ) to plant a Baptist church there. If it is recalled, that Frenchtown is of comparatively recent origin, a satisfactory explanation is afforded for seeming delay. In 1840, there were about twenty-five dwellings in the place and only since the railroad passed through the town has there been assurance of growth. In 1859, the Board of the State Convention appointed Rev. J. G. Penney its missionary, with Frenchtown as a center. Pastors of nearby churches preached there and a goodly number of Baptists lived there and one of them offered a large sum for a house of worship. Mr. Penney took hold of the enterprise with energy and the house
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was nearly completed before he left the field. Rev. W. D. Hires followed him. The building was dedicated December 25th, 1861.
About then Mr. Hires left the field and the Baptists in the town determined to organize a Baptist church. At a meeting they called, a committee was appointed to get the names of those who would unite n the movement. Nearly sixty persons agreed to the plan and in March, 1866, they decided to constitute the Frenchtown Baptist church. At the first regular business meeting of the church called, Rev. A. Arm- strong was called to be pastor. Resigning at Baptisttown, he became pastor at Frenchtown in April, 1866 and closed his work there in 1869. The succession of pastors at Frenchtown was: S. C. Boston, 1870-72; W. H. Shermer, 1872-73; W. H. Pease, 1873-75; S. S. Woodward, 1876- 78; W. D. Hires, 1878-81; I. D. Shull 1881-83; J. Walden, 1883-87; J. W. Taylor, 1888-90; H. A. Chapman,1891-94; and C. M. Deitz, 1895-1900.
The church has had eleven pastors. Substantial growth and deep rooting in the community could not be hoped for under such repeated changes in the pastoral office. The church, however, with its house of worship provided for it; has been a self sustaining body in nearly all of its past history. Such fields of small returns and distant hope of large growth demand courage and faith in those who sustain them.
CHAPTER VI.
SCHOOLEY'S MOUNTAIN, LEDGEWOOD AND NEWFOUNDLAND CHURCHES.
What had been known as Rocksbury church from 1753 to 1768, the name of the township in which the meeting house was, was called Schooley's Mountain church from 1768 to 1890, one hundred and twenty two years. The members of the church were living on the mountain, and hence the name, Schooley's Mountain. From 1768, the name of the church disappears from the minutes of the Philadelphia Association. Neither is it in the minutes of either the New York or the Warwick Associations. It appears in 1823 in the Warwick Association as the "Olive church." In the Sussex Association it is called Schooley's Mountain until 1889, when another designation is given. The "deed" of the lot on which the first meeting house stood is dated March 15th, 1768, and was made by James Heaton.
Morgan Edwards says of the origin of the church, "The rise of Baptists in this mountain was owing to Mr. Samuel Heaton, who with three brothers came from Connecticut to set up iron works. Bred a Presbyterian, he wanted a Presbyterian minister to christen his son. His wife objected saying, "If you show me a text that warrants christening a child, I will take him to the minister." Mr. Heaton quoted several, but his wife was not satisfied. Then Mr. Heaton went to the minister, sure that Infant Baptism must be in the Bible. The minister owned that there was no text that directly proved the point, but that it was probable by deduction from many texts. This shocked Mr. Heaton and he went home to "search the Scriptures." And with the the universal result of becoming a Baptist. He then went to King- wood, about forty miles, and considering the roads and the route, three or four times more. He was baptized there, uniting with the Kingwood church. Returning home, he began to preach. Converts were made, who went to Kingwood and were baptized into that church. This was the beginning of "Schooley's Mountain Baptist church."
In 1751, Mr. Heaton was ordained and founded three Baptist -churches, Mount Olive, Dividing Creek and a church in Virginia. Mr. Edwards adds of Mr. Heaton: "If an honest man be the noblest work of God," as Pope saith, "Mr. Heaton may lay claim to that nobility." (For other tributes to Mr. Heaton by Morgan Edwards, see History of
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Dividing Creek church.) Pastor Bonham of Kingwood visited the people and baptized, also Henry Crossley, a licentiate. Statements of the number of constituents differ. Minutes of the Philadelphia Association say five. Mr. Edwards gives twelve to fourteen. Mr. and Mrs. Heaton were among them. Henry Crossley was one of them and he was called to be pastor and ordained in 1753. He resigned in 1755. He had a second charge of seven years of the church, 1762-1768, inclu- sive. In 1768, he had a joint pastorate at Mount Bethel.
Adversity befell Schooley's Mountain church when Pastor Crossley removed. Its members associated with Morristown. Morgan Ed- wards says of this era: "Since the people of Schooley became a church they have undergone a dissolution and a reunion; some moved away, others joined Morristown, but others returning, they reunited under their first covenant on July 12th, 1775." Even though, so closely associated with Morristown, the Schooley Mountain members reserved to themselves, liberty to. hold monthly meetings and to transact business among themselves: This arrangement continued until November 18th, 1786. How much Pastor Reune Runyan of Morris- town had to do with this arrangement is unexplained. He did pastoral work at Schooley's Mountain and his influence was wholly of a merging process. When he returned to Piscataway, he kept up these endeavors, even though the long, weary and lonely distance, cost a vast sacrifice of time and of comfort. Rev. David Jayne supplied Schooley Mountain Baptists when Mr. Runyan returned to Piscataway and remedied in part, Mr. Runyan's plans. In 1784, Mr. Jayne was called elsewhere and Mr. Vaughn followed him in 1790 to 1794. That year Rev. Isaac Price settled at Schooley's Mountain, remaining till 1797. Again there was a hiatus in the church history lasting till 1832.
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