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 3
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During the pastorate of Dr. Hillyer, also, and for many years subsequently, it ought to be known that Union-meetings were frequently held between this church and the churches of Morristown and Hanover. These meetings were usually held at private houses, either in Columbia, Monroe, or
* He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in the year 1812.
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Whippany, on some afternoon in the week ; they were attended by the pastors of all these churches, who generally alternated in preaching ; and they were occasions of surpassing interest to the entire surrounding community. At these meetings, the Rev. Messrs. Jones, Richards, and Fisher, of Morristown ; the Rev. Messrs. Green and Condit, of Hanover; and the Rev. Messrs. Bradford, Richards, Miller, Hillyer, Perrine, and Bergen, of this place, met in friendly concert, and strength- ened each others' hands by these seasons of united worship. The recollection of these scenes, now for ever past, is full of interest to many of God's people who are yet living.
About six months after the dismission of Dr. Hillyer, on the 29th of December 1801, the con- gregation met, and, with the Rev. Dr. Richards of Morristown for their moderator, they united in a call to the Rev. MATTHEW LA RUE PERRINE, to as- sume the pastoral office among them. This call was promptly accepted, and he entered imme- diately upon his labors.
Mr. Perrine was a native of Freehold, Mon- mouth county, N. J., the scene of one of the most sanguinary battles of the American Revolution.
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While he was yet quite young, he resided in the family of his uncle, Dr. Condit, at Newton, in this State, and while there he began his studies prepar- atory to entering college, and was hopefully con- verted to God. Upon his uncle's removal to New Brunswick, he accompanied him thither ; finished his preparatory studies, and entered the college of New Jersey, in the year 1794. After a three years' course, he graduated at that institution in the year 1797. His theological studies, it is believed, were pursued in private, under the direction of his pastor, the Rev. John Woodhull, D.D., of Freehold ; and he was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, about the close of the last century. He was a young man when he came here, and this also was his first place of set- tlement. He was a very ripe scholar, a sound theologian, and an able preacher. He was justly distinguished for the soundness of his judgment, and his eminent piety ; and he was so characteris- tically amiable, that he was commonly called, where he was known, " the beloved disciple."
Under his ministry there were large accessions made to the church; and the congregation grew
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to become one of the most respectable and able in this section of the country.
It was during the period of his residence here, that the turnpike, which is now the main avenue through our village, was built ; and also that the township of Chatham was set off from the town- ships of Morris and Hanover. The first of these occurred in the year 1804, and the last in the year 1806. It was while he was here, also-to wit, in the year 1809-that our present academy was erected. This edifice was built by a joint-stock company, by which it is still owned; and at differ- ent periods it has contained schools of a very high order.
In the year 1804, soon after his settlement here, the entire village of Madison consisted of, not to exceed, twenty dwelling-houses; and all these were standing on the old road. One of these stood on the property formerly owned by Capt. Mallaby, opposite the toll-gate; another, where Deacon Burroughs now lives ; another, where Mrs. Chloe Samson resides; and another, at the foot of the hill. southeast of the church. Then came the church, on the crown of the hill, and then, a small house on the property now owned by Mr. Henry Keep; then
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came the parsonage, now occupied by Dr. Green ; then, a small house with a store attached, on the corner, until recently the residence of the late Mr. Benjamin Birdsall, but then occupied by Mr. Jon- athan Richards and Mr. Abraham Brittin ; then, on the opposite side of the street, a small house, where the residence of Mr. Charles Johnson now stands. Then came the public house, now occu- pied by Mr. Robert Albright; then, a small house on the side hill, late the residence of Mrs. Eliza Cook ; then, on the site of the present parsonage, a house belonging to Mr. James Burnet ; then, on the corner diagonally opposite, a house belonging to Mr. Ellis Cook. Then came the house of Dea- con Ephraim Sayre, and next to him the residence of Mr. Jonathan Harris. Further on came the dwelling of Mr. Joseph Miller, now occupied by Mr. David L. Miller ; on the opposite side of the street, where Mr. John B. Miller now resides, was an old house which was occupied by Deacon Joseph Wood ; and a little beyond that was the residence of Major Luke Miller. The school-house* stood
* The first school-house erected in Madison was on the Birdsall corner. After that, one was built on the property afterwards occupied by the Rev. Mr. Arms. That building was moved to the
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on the corner now occupied by Christian Wise ; a blacksmith-shop stood on the site of the present academy ; and an old storehouse occupied the site of our present lecture-room. Such was the village of Madison soon after Mr. Perrine's settlement here, about fifty years ago.
As has already been stated, Mr. Perrine's min- istry in this place was a very successful one. Under his supervision, the church grew very rap- idly, and large numbers were hopefully con- verted to God. While he was here, one very ex- tensive revival of religion was enjoyed in the con- gregation. It was preceded by prayer-meetings of a deeply solemn and interesting character ; and among these the most memorable are those which were held previous to the hour of divine worship, on Sabbath mornings, in the house opposite the toll-gate, formerly the property of Capt. Mallaby. Subsequently, " a four days meeting," as it was called, was appointed to be held in the church. On the day fixed for the services to begin, a great concourse of people assembled in and around the
corner, now occupied by Christian Wise, and is the building in which he now resides. From that, the school was taken to the academy in 1809.
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church from all parts of the surrounding country .* The church being found too small to accommodate the multitude assembled, arrangements were made for holding the services in the valley immediately in the rear of the church, and nearly in front of our present house of worship. A large farm-wag- on was placed by the brook, from which the min- isters were to address the people ; while the mul- . titude ranged themselves on the slopes of the hills on either side, to receive the gospel message from their lips. The following ministers were present, and assisted the pastor, Mr. Perrine, in these ser- vices, to wit: Rev. Dr. Finley, of Baskingridge ; Rev. Amzi Armstrong, of Mendham ; Rev. Dr. Richards, of Morristown; Rev. Dr. Hillyer, of Orange ; Rev. Barnabas King, then a young mis- sionary at Rockaway ; Rev. Aaron Condit, of Han- over ; Rev. Dr. M'Whorter, of Newark; Rev. Henry Kollock, of Elizabethtown; Rev. Dr. Griffin, of Newark, and others. "There were giants in those days !" The services were kept up through
* The number of horses and carriages in attendance was so great, that, as they were hitched to the fences on both sides of the road, they extended from the old parsonage to the church, and to an equal distance beyond it.
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four entire days, morning and afternoon ; and in a few instances, there was preaching at the same hour both in the valley and in the church. The ministers present took their turns in conducting the services ; and the result was one of the most extensive revivals of religion that has ever been witnessed in this country. An eye-witness of the solemn scene, in a letter to the author, speaks of it in the following language: "It was in Madison that I witnessed the largest religious concourse that I ever witnessed anywhere. The ground north of the old church was admirably fitted for the occasion. It was a hollow, surrounded by rising grounds on all sides. In the bottom were placed wagons, from which the ministers held forth the word of life to the earnestly listening and solemn crowds, assembled from all parts of the country. The preaching was, for the most part, in the open air ; but I remember that on one after- noon as many as could be accommodated, repaired to the church to hear Dr. M'Whorter, of Newark, while the balance remained in the hollow to hear preaching there. The ministers of the old Jersey Presbytery were accustomed, at that time, to hold monthly meetings in their respective parishes, for
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, MADISON. 49
mutual improvement in matters pertaining to their high calling. Around these meetings there came by degrees to gather a great deal of interest; the people in all that region began to sympathize with their ministers, so that when the first week in July, the time fixed for the meeting at Madison, came, multitudes felt as if they must be there. Notice was given of it for several weeks previously, in the neighboring churches ; and I remember that Mr. Armstrong, our pastor at Mendham, stated on the Sabbath before, from his pulpit, that he in- tended to be there, and that he hoped many of his people would make their arrangements to go also. I look back to that time with admiration and wonder, at the manifestations of divine power which were seen and felt at that time through all that region. Many thousands, I believe, were con- verted to God, a large number of whom have already gone home to glory ; and it is interest- ing, at least to myself, to know that my own relig- ious seriousness began about that time."*
As the result of that work of grace, a very great number of hopeful converts connected themselves
* Rev. Jacob Tuttle, of Jersey, Ohio-father of the author.
3
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with neighboring churches ; and nearly ninety were received into fellowship with this church, upon profession of their faith in Christ ; and the cause of religion received an impulse in this whole surrounding region, which it is believed it never has lost until this day. The time when these remarkable services were held was in the month of July, 1806.
The number of church members here when Mr. Perrine was first settled over this church, was not far from one hundred. In the year 1808, that number was increased to but little short of two hundred ; and when he resigned his charge here, the number was two hundred and nine. This, it will be remembered, was when this church was still the only one within the limits of this town- ship.
Mr. Perrine's pastoral connection with this church and congregation continued about nine and a half years, until the August of 1811 ; when he was dismissed at his own request, to take charge of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church in New York city. Previous to his entering upon his la- bors in this new sphere, the congregation extend- ed to him a very pressing invitation to return and
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resume his pastorate in this place. This second call was attended with many circumstances which were honorable both to them and to him ; but, not seeing his way clear to accept, he declined the in- vitation, and entered upon his ministry in New York. In this new position, he continued for about ten years, until the year 1821, when he was called to a professorship in the Theological Seminary at Auburn, New York ; where, after a period of about fifteen years of distinguished usefulness in train- ing up young men for the gospel ministry, he de- parted this life on the 11th of February, 1836, sincerely beloved and lamented by all who knew him. Mr. Perrine never had any children of his own; but he adopted and educated some six or eight of his nephews and other relatives, some of whom have already brought distinction both upon themselves and upon him. Among these is the Rev. Matthew La Rue Perrine Thompson, D. D., formerly of Philadelphia, but now of Buffalo, New York.
At the commencement of Mr. Perrine's ministry in Madison, he resided in the old parsonage, of which we have already spoken ; but having subse- quently erected a dwelling for himself-the one
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now occupied by Mr. Beaupland-he made this his residence until his removal to New York ; and it was while he was occupying his own house, that the congregation disposed of their parsonage ; the amount for which it was sold being $2,350. This occurred in the year 1810; and from that time until the spring of 1854-a period of about forty- four years-the parish was destitute of a parsonage for the accommodation of their minister.
About the commencement of the last war with Great Britain, to wit, on the 19th of October, 1812, the church and congregation united in a call to the Rev. JOHN G. BERGEN, to become their pas- tor. This call he accepted, and entered immedi- ately upon his labors. Mr. Bergen graduated at the College of New Jersey, in the year 1808; and he served as a tutor in that Institution from 1810 to 1812, a period of about two years. He was ordained and installed by the Presbytery of Jersey, with which this church was at that time con- nected ; and from the tutorship in Princeton he came directly here to assume, for the first time, the responsibilities of a pastor. He purchased the res- idence of his predecessor, the Rev. Mr. Perrine ;
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and there he continued to reside during his entire ministry in this place.
At the time of his settlement here, the eldership of the church consisted of the following gentle- men, to wit : Messrs. Ephraim Sayre, Enos Ward, Israel Lum, Benjamin Thompson, Samuel Much- more, Jacob Bonnel, William Thompson, Aaron Burnet, Jonathan Thompson, and Stephen Day. Soon after Mr. Bergen came to this place, the con- gregation purchased a valuable lot of wood-land in the " Great Swamp" in the vicinity of Green Vil- lage, for the use of the minister. This property contained about twenty acres, and cost the society the sum of $444 37. About seven years subse- quently, the wood having been taken from it, the society again disposed of it.
Five years after this, to wit, in the year 1817, the name of the congregation was changed by an act of the Legislature, from "The Presbyterian Church of South Hanover," which it had borne for about seventy years, to "The First Presbyterian Church of the township of Chatham," by which it continued to be designated for nearly thirty years following, until January, 1846, when it was again
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changed by the Legislature, to " The Presbyterian Church of Madison," which name it still bears.
In the early periods of the church's history, the religious education of the rising generation was chiefly of a domestic character. It was quite com- mon for the pastors of the churches to visit the schools in their respective neighborhoods, and to catechize the children as frequently as practicable. Parents, however, took the principal direction of this important matter. The Shorter Catechism, com- piled by the Westminster Assembly, was placed in the hands of the children, and on each returning Sabbath, a season was set apart for the recitation of that invaluable formulary of Christian doctrine. The Scriptures were likewise read, and devotional hymns sung ; and in this way the young were at that time trained up " in the nurture and admoni- tion of the Lord." And this continued to be the case within the limits of this congregation until the year 1817, when the first Sabbath-school was instituted in this place. The leading agent in the formation of the Sabbath-school was Mr. William Thompson, at that time an elder in this church, but now a resident in the village of Jersey, Ohio. This gentleman had become deeply interested in
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Sabbath-schools from the perusal of a tract on that subject; and in order to awaken a similar interest in the minds of others, he read the tract in the prayer-meeting which was at that time held on Sabbath afternoon, in the upper room of the Academy. This had the desired effect. The sub- ject was talked about for a week or two, when Mr. Thompson said to some of his friends, that if they would unite with him, they would at once make the effort to establish a Sabbath-school here. Persons were not wanting, to embark with him upon this new method of instructing the young ; and, as a consequence, the work was immediately begun. Mr. Thompson was appointed the first superintendent; and the first teachers were Amelia Bruen, Julia Thompson, Lucinda Bruen, Lillys Cook, Priscilla Sayre, and Nancy Cook.
At first this School was kept open only during the summer months ; simply for the reason that it was supposed to be a thing utterly impracticable to maintain it during the winter. In the year 1834, however, the experiment was tried of keep- ing it up during the winter ; and from that time to the present it has been maintained through the entire year. The school was kept for nearly
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eighteen years in the upper room of the academy, where it was first opened ; and at one time, over a hundred scholars regularly met for religious in- struction in that place ; and it was not until about the year 1840, that it was removed to the gallery of the church, where it has since been kept.
This interesting institution has been maintained with commendable fidelity, and with various suc- cess, until the present time ; and it has unques- tionably proved an incalculable blessing to this church, as well as to this entire community. The great majority of those who have been members of the school have been hopefully converted to God, and an influence has in this way been set on foot, the full extent of which can never be realized until the revelations of the judgment-day.
The December of 1819 is memorable in the an- nals of this congregation as the time when, by a formal and well-considered vote of the parish, the first stove was introduced into our sanctuary. The committee appointed to look after this matter consisted of Messrs. Nathaniel Roberts, Charles Carter, Jacob Bonnel, and Benjamin Thompson. For nearly seventy years previous to this time, our ancestors worshipped without seeming to have
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had the most remote conception of so obvious a source of comfort in the house of God. They rode, in many instances for several miles, to the sanc- tuary ; attended two services, with an intermission of an hour between them, and rode to their homes again, without even "the smell of fire having passed upon them !"
During the ministry of Mr. Bergen here, there were very considerable accessions made to the church; and the congregation became so large that soon after he commenced his labors here, the erection of a new and more spacious house of wor- ship began to be seriously talked about. Four revivals of religion, of greater or less extent, were enjoyed ; and in the year 1822 especially, one was witnessed which will ever be held in grateful remembrance by this people. As the result of this work of grace, not far from ninety persons con- nected themselves with this church, upon a profes- sion of their faith in Christ. At the close of the year just mentioned, the church enrolled more members than it ever had done before, or ever has done since. The whole number at that time in full communion was three hundred and fifty.
The matter of enlarging the old house of wor- ยท 3*
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ship, or of erecting a new one, had been seriously talked about by the congregation as early as the year 1808, when a committee of fifteen was ap- pointed to examine the old church and report "what repairs were necessary, and whether a new church was needed, and if so, where it should be located." The subject continued to be matter of conversation and discussion at the parish meetings and in private circles, from year to year, until the year 1822, when it was at length brought to an issue. A new church was determined upon, chiefly for the reason that the old one was too small to accommodate the congregation ; and on the 4th of February, 1823, matters had progressed so far, that the parish was called together to de- liberate and agree upon a site for it. It will be borne in mind that this was still the only parish within the limits of this township; and when the question as to the location of the new edifice came up, there was naturally not a little difference of judgment among the people. Those who resided in and about Chatham village, wanted it located on the point of the hill opposite the residence of Mr. Alexander Bruen ; whereas those who resided in this village, as well as those who lived west and
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south of the old meeting-house, greatly preferred that it should be located somewhere in the vicinity of our present lecture-room. The territory em- braced in the congregation was surveyed, and its geographical centre was found to be only a few rods from the spot where the lecture-room now stands. This, however, did not change the deter- minations of the south-eastern section of the con- gregation. It was then proposed that the Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen, and the Hon. Joseph C. Hornblower, of Newark, be authorized to appoint at their discretion, five individuals " whose business it should be to visit the parish, inspect its bound- aries, view the different sites named, take into view all previous proceedings had in relation to the building of a new church, and fix upon that site which, in their opinion, should appear to be most eligible ;"' "and their decision" it was recom- mended, " should conclude the whole matter, and receive the concurrence of all parties." This pro- posal, however, was not accepted ; and at length, so strenuous were our friends in Chatham, in their opposition to the site fixed upon by this portion of the parish, that the latter agreed to compromise
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the matter, and locate the new edifice where we are now assembled.
This decision was arrived at on the 4th day of February, 1823. A very large number of the active members of the parish convened in the old meeting-house on that day; the trustees and others having this matter in charge, reported that they had agreed to recommend the site above referred to, which was described as " the ground lying between the houses of Alexander M. Miller and Daniel Burnet ;" the subject was discussed at great length, both parties having ample oppor- tunity afforded them for the expression of their views ; and upon the vote being taken, it was found that a very large majority were in favor of the place where the church now stands. Against this decision a protest was presented, signed by upwards of forty individuals residing in the vicinity of Chatham village ; and this, the con- gregation consented to have recorded upon their book of minutes. Notwithstanding all that had occurred, it was hoped, not without reason, that the parties would yet be brought to harmonize, with cordiality, in this decision. The reverse,
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however, was the fact. It soon became apparent
that the attempted compromise had effected
nothing. On the 20th of October, 1823, the Chatham branch. of the congregation withdrew, and organized a new church in that village, placing themselves under the care of the Presby- tery of Jersey. This was the origin of the Pres- byterian church in Chatham Village, of which the Rev. Asa Lyman was, for about four years, the stated supply ; and of which the Rev. Joseph M. Ogden has been the pastor since the 23d of June, 1828,-a period of about twenty-six and a half years; and this, too, is the reason why the sanctuary in which we are now assembled was located, as it is, so far from the centre of our own village. Its location here is a substantial and impressive evidence of the readiness of this people, to yield up the convictions of their judgment, as well as their decided preferences, for the sake of peace. Long may this continue to be the real character of this people !
Having thus decided upon a site, the congrega- tion now resolved to proceed at once to the erec- tion of the new church. Messrs. William Brittin, Ichabod Bruen, Lewis Carter, and William
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Thompson, were appointed a committee to visit churches in the vicinity, and to decide upon a plan. This preliminary work having been per- formed, the Society appointed a building com- mittee, with instructions to proceed, with all proper despatch, to the execution of the work. That committee consisted of the following indi- viduals, to wit : William Brittin, John Sturges, Archibald Sayre, Luke Miller, Lewis Carter, John Roberts, and Ichabod Bruen, who were authorized to fill any vacancies which might occur in their number, and to superintend the work until its completion. This committee subsequent- ly appointed William Brittin and William Thomp- son, who were at that time members of the board of trustees, a sub-committee to take the special oversight of the work as it advanced, to provide the materials, and to employ and pay the workmen. The master carpenters selected were Messrs. Ichabod Bruen and Lewis Carter; and the head mason appointed was John Sturges, of Green Village. In the spring of 1824, the foun- dation was laid ; and in the spring of 1825, just one year after, the house was completed, and the keys handed over to the president of the Board of
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