USA > New Jersey > Morris County > Madison > A history of the Presbyterian Church, Madison, N.J. : a discourse, delivered on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1854 > Part 2
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* In the Records of the Presbytery of Suffolk, for April 6, 1750, there is the following minute :- " Rev. Nehemiah Greenman was dismissed to accept a call to the new society in South Hanover, N. J." For this, and for the fact of Mr. Greenman's settlement here, the author is indebted to the Rev. Richard Webster, of Mauch Chunk, Pa.
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they invited him to preach for them as a stated supply. Mr. Greenman was a native of Long Island ; was licensed to preach by the Suffolk Presbytery, October, 3, 1748; and was ordained while here, by the Presbytery of New York. He continued to labor in this congregation, in the capacity already stated, for nearly two years, when he withdrew to engage in the same labors elsewhere. From the " Records of the Presbyte- rian Church," pages 248 and 260, we discover that during the year 1753 and 1754, he preached in several instances by appointment of the Synod of New York, for the church in Hanover, Virginia ; and he is known to have been subsequently the pastor of the Presbyterian church in Pilesgrove- now Pittsgrove-in this State, and to have lived to a good old age.
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The first regular pastor of this church was the Rev. AZARIAH HORTON. He was a native of Southold, Long Island ; and he graduated at Yale College, New Haven, in the year 1735. In the year 1741, he was licensed to preach the gospel, and ordained by the Presbytery of New York, as a missionary among the Indians. In this capacity he labored for a number of years, until the year 1750,
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when he was invited to supply a Church on Long Island, and became connected with the Presbytery of Suffolk. There he continued for about a year, when he was called to become the pastor of the Church in this place. From the records of the old Synod of New York, and, subsequently, of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, it appears that he was generally present at the annual meet- ings of those bodies, and that he was a prominent and active member of them up to the very year of his death. He was a member of the old Synod of Philadelphia when the Presbytery of New York, ยท which was formerly connected with that body, protested against the act of the Synod in exscinding the Presbytery of New Brunswick ; he was one of the ten ministers whose names appear on that pro- test ; and he was one of the most prominent and active of those who afterwards organized the Synod of New York. He was, for many years, also, a member of the "Commission of the Synod," as it was called -a committee ap- pointed from year to year, to attend to the Synod's business during the intervals between its regular annual meetings ; and he did much towards the founding of the " College of New Jersey," which,
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it will be remembered, occurred in the year 1746, about a year previous to the organization of this church.
Mr. Horton was installed as the pastor of this church in the year 1751; and after laboring in this relation for a period of twenty-five years, he was dismissed, at his own request, in the month of November, 1776. About five months after his dismission, he was seized with that terrible scourge, the small-pox, and on the 27th of March, 1777, he died, at the house of his son, Foster Horton, who was then residing and keeping a store in Chatham village. The death of Mr. Horton occurred one year after the commence- ment of the Revolutionary War; and he was buried in our beautiful cemetery ; his grave, which is covered with a freestone slab, standing on col- umns of the same material, being immediately in the rear of the old pulpit, in which he had so often officiated as a minister of Jesus Christ .*
While he was the pastor of this church, his sal-
On Mr. Horton's monument, which is standing in the cemetery in Madison, is the following inscription :- " In memory of the Rev. Azariah Horton, for 25 years pastor of this church. Died, March 27, 1777, aged 62 years." This would make his settlement here in the early part of 1752, or the latter part of 1751.
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ary being small-never amounting to more than seventy pounds, or one hundred and seventy-five dollars, per annum,-his wife, Mrs. Eunice Hor- ton, in order to make up for the deficiency in the means for their support,* opened a store on the cor- ner since occupied by Mr. Benjamin Birdsall, and without encumbering him in the least degree with its management, she is said, not only to have made out a handsome support for the family, but also to have accumulated enough to enable her to make the purchase of a valuable farm. She was a very energetic and well-educated woman ; and in every respect a worthy "helpmeet" of the pioneer minister of this place.t About a year and
The building in which this store was kept, was afterwards converted into a school-house ; and for this purpose it was used for several years.
t The writer is indebted for many of the facts recorded here, in relation to the early history of this place, to Mr. Azariah Carter, who was born in the year 1767, and who is still living in this vicinity, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He was named from the first pastor of this church, and remembers him well, having been about ten years of age at the time of his death. He is also indebted to Deacon Ichabod Bruen, Mrs. Mary Richards, Captain Luke Carter, and Mrs. Susan Vanderbilt, who are still living in this place ; and all of whom are over eighty years of age. He is under obligations, moreover, to Messrs. William and Abraham Brittin, Dr. H. P. Green, Mrs. Rachel Sayre, Ashbel Carter, and others.
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a half after her husband's death, she also died, while an inmate of her son's family in Chatham, at the age of fifty-six years, and she was buried in our cemetery, her name and that of her husband being inscribed on the same monument.
Mr. Horton had two sons. One of these was killed while serving his country in the Revolution- ary War. The other, Mr. Foster Horton, lived, as before stated, in Chatham village, and was for several years afterwards a prominent and effi- cient member of this parish. He left, also, several daughters. One of these, Charlotte, married Mr. Lewis Woodruff, of Elizabethtown ; and another, Mary, married Mr. Jacob Morrell, a resident in this place ; and here, about three years after her father's decease, she died, at the age of thirty- one. Her name, also, may be found on her father's monument.
In the year 1765, about eleven years after Mr. Horton's settlement here, the congregation pur- chased a piece of property for a parsonage, and put it in a state of repair for their minister. This property was the one now owned and occupied by Dr. H. P. Green, in the vicinity of the Morris and Essex Railroad depot. It contained originally
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about fifty acres of land, with a house and barn, which stood on the same site which is now occu- pied by Dr. Green's improvements. The house was a large double one, shingled on all sides, with the front eaves high, while the back ones were so low that they could easily be reached from the ground. Here did Mr. Horton, the first pastor, reside for nearly fourteen years, until his dismission, about five months before his death ; and here did the succeeding pastors of the church continue to re- side until the year 1810; when the congregation sold the property, for reasons which will hereafter be stated ; having been in possession of it for a period of nearly fifty years.
After Mr. Horton's death, which occurred, as has been stated, just after the commencement of the Revolutionary War, the congregation engaged, for a short time, the services of the Rev. AARON RICHARDS. Mr. Richards was likewise a gradu- ate of Yale College ; he was licensed and ordained by the Presbytery of New York, and was for many years associated with his predecessor here, as a co- presbyter in that body. At the time of his preaching in this place, he was the regular pastor of the Presbyterian church at Rahway, in this
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State ; but on account of the dangers incident to a residence on the great thoroughfare between New York and Philadelphia, during the war, he deemed it prudent to bring his family here for a time ; and upon his arrival in this place the congregation decided to invite him to supply the pulpit until the way should be prepared for him to return to his own charge. In this capacity he served the society-residing in the old parsonage -for about one and a half years, until the early part of the year 1779, when he withdrew to labor again among his own people.
During the winter of 1776-77, and the winter of 1779-80, it will be remembered, that the American army established their winter quarters in the vicinity of this place and Morristown. Gen. Washington had his head-quarters in the lat- ter place, in a dwelling which is still standing, and which is owned and occupied by Henry A. Ford, Esq .; while a number of the leading officers of the army had quarters assigned them in this village. Col. Francis Barbour resided in a small house, which was standing, at that time, on the site now occupied by the dwelling of Mr. John B. Miller ; and for one year he rented and occupied
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the old parsonage. Col. Matthias Ogden was quartered with Major Luke Miller ; and while there, he rented a piece of property belonging to the congregation, in the vicinity of the residence of Deacon Jonathan Thompson, but now the home- stead of Mr. Lathrop. Major Eaton took up his abode with Mr. Jonathan Harris, in a dwelling which is still standing, next to the residence of the late Deacon Ephraim Sayre; and Col. Marsh resided in an old house, which was at that time standing on the spot which has since been occu- pied by the dwelling of Mrs. Eliza Cook. A part of the army were at the same time encamped on the property formerly owned by Mr. Vincent Bois- aubin, but now owned and occupied by Mr. A. M. Treadwell; and while they were thus situated, it was very common for both officers and privates to attend divine worship in our old sanctuary. There are those still living among us who remember seeing companies of soldiers in uniform, accom- panied by their officers, entering that venerable edifice, and, taking their places in the southeast gallery, unite with our fathers in rendering adora- tion and thanksgiving to the Most High. The Rev. James Caldwell, the honored pastor of the
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First Presbyterian church, in Elizabethtown, who was afterwards most brutally assassinated by the enemy, was acting as chaplain in the army, while they were quartered in this vicinity ; and he is known to have preached repeatedly in this place, both in the church and in the house* of his warm and intimate friend, Deacon Ephraim Sayre ; where he was a frequent and a most welcome visitor.
During the same spring in which Mr. Richards left-the Revolution then being at its height- the church and congregation united in a call to the Rev. EBENEZER BRADFORD. This gentleman was a native of Canterbury, Ct. ; he graduated at the Col- lege of New Jersey in 1773 ; and he was licensed and ordained by the Presbytery of New York in the year 1775. On the 13th of June of the same year, he received ordination, and for three or four years, subsequently, preached in the churches of Chester and Succasunna ; until the early part of the year 1779, when he was invited to become the pastor of this church ; and while he was here offici-
* That house is still occupied by Mrs. Richards and Miss Rachel Sayre, daughters of Deacon Ephraim Sayre, to whom the writer is indebted for important facts contained in this history.
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ating in that capacity, he married a daughter of the Rev. Jacob Green, of Hanover. During his residence in this place, he occupied the old par- sonage, and taught, at the same time, a very flourishing and somewhat famous classical acade- my,* which stood on the very spot now occupied by our village depot. Most of the pupils in this institution were from other parts of the country ; and a considerable number pursued their studies here, preparatory to their entering college, who afterwards distinguished themselves in the Chris- tian ministry, or in the other learned professions. The Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green was one of the teach- ers in this institution.
Mr. Bradford continued to perform the double duty of pastor and teacher in this place for a period of about three years, when he resigned his charge, and retired in the year 1782. While he was the pastor of this church he, with Rev. Jacob Green, of Hanover, Rev. Amzi Lewis, of Warwick,
* That edifice was afterwards removed to Chatham village, during the Revolutionary War, where it was occupied for a consid- erable time by Mr. Shepard Kollock, the proprietor and editor of a paper published in Elizabethtown, for the issuing of that paper ; it being considered hazardous, as things then were, to perform the work in the village, where it properly belonged.
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N. Y., Rev. Joseph Grover, of Parsippany, and a few others, withdrew from the old Presbytery of New York with which this church was at that time connected, and formed what was called the " Presbytery of Morris County."* This ecclesias- tical body originated in a predilection entertained by the gentlemen above named, for the Congrega- tional method of church government; and it is not unlikely that Mr. Bradford's tendency in that direction was a leading cause of his short con- tinuance here as the pastor of this church.
Upon leaving here he went, in 1781, to Bethel, in the town of Danbury, Connecticut, where he labored for a few years, and then removed to Rowley, Massachusetts, where he continued to
* " The Presbytery of Morris County" appears to have been formed in or about the year 1780. In the minutes of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, for May, 1781, the Rev. Messrs. Jacob Green, Joseph Grover, Amzi Lewis, and Ebenezer Bradford, the originators of that body, are reported to have withdrawn from the Presbytery of New York during the year preceding. The movement never seems to have met with much favor at any period of its history ; and for many years the Presbytery has been entirely disbanded. The Morris County Education Society, which was formerly connected with that body, is still in existence, hav- ing its centre in Bloomfield, in Essex County, where it is furnish- ing means for the education of four or five young men per annum, for the Gospel ministry. The writer has been, for several years, one of the Board of Managers of that Society.
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preach until his death, which occurred in the year 1801.
He was a very able preacher ; and it is said that under one of his sermons on 1 Tim. 2:5, his brother-in-law, the late Dr. Ashbel Green, of Phil- adelphia, was converted to God. Mr. Bradford left four sons, all of whom have distinguished themselves in their various professions ; Dr. John M. Bradford, of the Reformed Dutch Church, Al- bany ; Rev. James Bradford, of Sheffield, Massa- chusetts ; Hon. E. G. Bradford, President Judge of York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania ; and Moses Bradford, Esq., of Wilmington, Delaware.
In the month of June of the following year-the war yet being in progress-the Rev. ALEXANDER MILLER was invited to become the pastor of this church. This gentleman was a native of Scot- land ; he graduated at the College of New Jersey in the year 1764; was licensed by the Presbytery of New York in 1768 ; was ordained by the same body, as an evangelist, on the 5th day of June, 1770, and labored in this capacity for about two years in the village of Schenectady, N. Y. He was installed as the pastor of this Church on the 2d day of July, 1783, and after having labored in
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this connection for a period of about four years, he was dismissed on the 19th of June, 1787. From the year 1785 to the year 1795 he officiated as a Trustee of the College of New Jersey. After re- signing his pastorate here, he removed to Hacken- sack, in this State, where he took the charge of an academy, and remained until the year 1796, when he removed to the county of Columbia, N. Y., and took the charge of a classical institution there. In this position he remained from the year 1809 to the year 1819, a period of about ten years ; and while residing in that section of the country, he was a member of the Presbytery of Albany .*
For nearly three years after this, the church seems to have been destitute of the services of a stated pastor, and were obliged to look to the " Presbytery of New York," with which they were connected, for occasional supplies. The Presby- tery at that time was composed of the follow- ing ministers, to wit : Rev. Drs. John Rogers, Timothy Jones, Hugh Knox, and Alexander Mc Whorter, and Rev. Messrs. Jedediah Chapman,
* The author is indebted for several of the facts here stated, re- specting Messrs. Bradford and Miller, to the kindness of the Rev. Richard Webster, of Mauch Chunk, Pa.
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John McDonald, Aaron Richards, Jonathan Elmer, Abner Brush, Benjamin Woodruff, Azel Roe, Nathan Kerr, John Close, Alexander Miller, Wil- liam Woodhull, Jacob Van Arsdalen, William Schenck, John Warford, John Joline, Andrew King, and James Glassbrook ; and it is probable that a considerable number of these gentlemen, if not all of them, took their turns in supplying the pulpit here while it was vacant. The ordinances of the sanctuary, however, were regularly main- tained, and the church began to recover gradually from the disastrous effects of the war. The period of which we are now speaking is memor- able for one thing which will never cease to excite the regrets of this community ; and that is, the utter loss of all the records of the Session of this church, from the year 1790 back to the time of its organization-a period of nearly fifty-five years. All the transactions of that body during that time, together with the names of nearly all the members of the church previous to the year just mentioned, are irrecoverably gone ; and what is a little remarkable, on the minutes of the parish itself there is no record of any of its proceedings from the 11th of October, 1786, to the 29th of
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September, 1789; a deficiency which not only can never be explained, but which can by no means ever be supplied.
In the early periods of the church's history, it may be interesting to know that there were no choirs appointed to conduct the singing of the sanctuary ; but that this part of divine service was attended to by the whole congregation ; one or more individuals being appointed annually at the parish meeting, to "pitch the tune," as it was termed, and lead them in this exercise. The leader's place was in the deacons' pew, immediately under the pulpit. When the psalm or hymn had been given out, the leader arose in the presence of the whole assembly, and started the tune, the congregation falling in with him in one general chorus. This practice was kept up in the church, it is believed, until about the year 1800, when that of singing in connection with a choir, was introduced.
In reference to the versions of psalms and hymns which have been used here at different periods in the church's history, it may be well to state that for eight or nine years after the society was formed, as a means of uniting those whose
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views differed on this subject, the congregation used the old Scotch version by Rouse, as well as that which was prepared by Dr. Watts. At that time the churches generally through the country were very much divided in reference to this matter ; and in many instances it was deemed of sufficient importance to call for the counsel and ultimate adjudication of the Presbyteries and higher bodies of the church .* - At times, it greatly disturbed the peace of this congregation, until Watts' version was adopted by common consent, as already stated. This continued to be used in the church until the year 1804, when the version by Dr. Timothy Dwight, President of Yale College, was introduced. This last continued in use here until the year 1814, when the congrega-
* In 1763, the Synod of New York and Philadelphia decided one of these references in the following manner : " Inasmuch as Dr. Watts' imitation of David's Psalms was approved by many mem- bers of the Synod, although it has not been particularly examined by all, the Synod have no objection to its use until the matter of Psalmody be further considered ;"' and in 1765, they decided " that they look upon the inspired psalms in Scripture to be pro- per matter to be sung in divine worship, according to their original design, and the practice of the churches ; yet they will not forbid those to use the imitation of them, whose judgment and inclina- tion lead them to do so."-History of the Presbyterian Church, pp. 407, 408.
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tion once more agreed to adopt the old version by Dr. Watts ; which, in turn, was used by the con- gregation until the year 1833, when the " Chris- tian Psalmist," which we are now using, took its place.
As a matter properly belonging to the annals of the church, it may be proper to state, that in providing for the support of their pastors, the congregation for many years, stipulated, in addi- tion to their regular salary, to furnish them with all their necessary fuel. In order to provide this, it was the practice of the parish to purchase wood lots, and to appoint one or more days in each year for the purpose of cutting and drawing the minister's wood. On such occasions, the great body of the congregation turned out with their axes and their teams ; a generous supper was provided by the ladies of the parish at the parsonage ; and the year's supply of fuel was in this way piled up in the minister's yard. It may serve to show us the difference between the past and the present in a single item, to state a well-authenticated fact, that during the pastorate of one who was here at the close of the last century, at one of these annual " frolics," ninety loads, or not far from
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seventy cords of wood, were deposited in the par- sonage yard; and that before the expiration of the year the whole of it was consumed. This practice of wood-getting was followed by the con- gregation until about the year 1840, when it was abandoned; having been in vogue in this parish for a period of nearly ninety years.
On the 29th of September, 1789, the congrega- tion extended a call to the Rev. ASA HILLYER, to become their pastor; and in the early part of the following year he was installed here to serve in that capacity, by the Presbytery of New York ; the Rev. Mr. Austin, of Elizabethtown, preaching the installation sermon. The following gentlemen at that time constituted the Session of this church, to wit: Joseph Wood, Ephraim Sayre, Moses Allen, Jonathan Nicholas, Jacob Bonnel, Paul Day, Jonathan Thompson, Stephen Day, and Enos Ward. Mr. Hillyer was a native of New Eng- land ; he graduated at Yale College in the year 1786-three years previous to his being called to this place ; and he was licensed and ordained by the old Presbytery of Suffolk, Long Island, in the spring of 1788. When he came here, he was yet
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a young man, and this was his first place of settlement. While he was the pastor of this church, his labors were very greatly blessed ; the number of church members was increased, and the congregation came to assume a high rank among the congregations of that day. This amiable and worthy divine occupied the pulpit here for a period of about twelve years ; when, in the summer of 1801, he was dismissed to become the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Orange, in this State; where he continued to labor until his death, which occurred in the year 1840. The minute which the congregation have placed upon their records in reference to Mr. Hillyer's dismission, does honor both to themselves and to him ; and furnishes a beautiful exempli- fication of the spirit which ought to be exhibited ' both by pastors and people, when in the prov- idence of God they are called to separate. Mr. Hillyer was elected a trustee of the College of New Jersey in the year 1811; and this respon- sible and honorable office he continued to hold until the time of his death-a period of nearly thirty years.
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The pastorate of Dr. Hillyer* is ever to be re- membered by this people as the period when the Tuesday evening prayer-meeting was established. It was commenced somewhere about the year 1790, in the house of Deacon Ephraim Sayre, where it was kept up for a considerable time ; after which it was removed to the old school-house, now occupied by Chistian Wise, on the corner north- west of the present academy ; and afterwards, to the upper room of the present academy, where it was maintained for more than forty years, until the year 1851, when, upon the completion of the lecture-room, it was removed there. That prayer- meeting has been kept up now for nearly sixty-five years, and has proved an incalculable blessing, in every point of view, to this entire community.
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