USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Centennial celebration of the dedication of the First Presbyterian Church, Newark, N.J. : January fourth and fifth, 1891 > Part 2
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The character of the credits discloses the readiness with which the subscribers availed themselves of the second condition of the agreement which accepted labor, materials or produce in payment of subscription. To John Tichenor and Phineas Baldwin pertains the honor of hauling and delivering on the 28th day of September, 1786, the first loads of stone for the new structure. By November 11th, 1786, so vigorously had the work been prosecuted, that 422 loads were deposited on the lot. The last stone credit was on October 4th, 1787, by which time doubtless suffi- cient material for the proposed edifice had been gathered. Dr. Mac Whorter is credited, May 12th, 1787, with 534 days tending, £1 . 8.9; May 28, 5 days tending, £1.5 shillings.
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There are credits for shovelling sand, a day's chopping, carting clay, teams of horses, planks, nails, sheepskins, shoes, 2 quart jug, tin mug, cyder, rum, &c., &c., &c. In fact, the church seems to have served as a sort of clearing house for the debts of the village. If A. owed B. five pounds, B. would say, " A., I have subscribed five pounds towards the meeting house. You settle that and I will give you a receipt in full." Whereupon A. would either give his labor, or send the committee a load of hay, or a bundle of sheepskins, or the work of a horse team, the same being duly credited to B.'s subscription. It is note- worthy, as indicative of the general interest in the enter- prise, that the ferries and the highways exempted from toll all materials used in the construction of the building.
I have been informed that the architect of the church was Eleazar Ball, but have not been able to learn whether he drew the designs, or simply supervised the construc- tion. He was the nephew of Moses Ball, whose will be- queathing the parsonage wood lands to the church may be seen on record at the office of the Secretary of State at Trenton. Mr. Ball, the architect, lived at Middleville, about one mile above Irvington, in a house which he named, and which I am told is still known as Tuscan Hall. He was accustomed, during the progress of the work upon the church, to drive over every morning, supervise the operations of the day and then drive home at night.
I have also been told that the ornamental wood work of the building was done by Eleazar Camp, an Elder from 1794 until his death which occurred in 1821.
After the work of gathering stone had been carried on very vigorously for about six weeks, it appears that some difficulty, hindering the successful prosecution of the same, must have arisen, for we find, on November 11th, 1786, that a meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at the house of Elisha Boudinot, the President, when it was
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resolved " that advertisement be put up immediately : when the parsonage lots were leased the Trustees reserved to themselves the privilege of getting stone off the same for the purpose of building a church, if the same was erected during the term. And the congregation having begun to build a church, it is ordered that the managers of the said building be authorized to direct any person or persons to get the said stone for the purpose aforesaid ; advising the said managers at the same time to give a preference to the lessees of the said lots, provided they will get the stone at the time the said managers shall appoint."
Whether the lessees failed to live up to their contract or were unable to come to time with the managers, it is evident something was working adversely, for on April 13th, 1787, the Trustees fulminated as follows :
"It is agreed that Mr. Alling give notice to the Trustees of the Parsonage lots that they shall have until the first day of May next, to get stones from their own lots, and after that time general permission shall be given to any persons to get stone for the use of the church from the same."
In the meantime, while the stones were being gath- ered, the Trustees were bestirring themselves in other directions to raise the funds needful for the prosecution of the work. At a meeting held June 7th, 1787, it was " agreed that the money collected for the purpose of pur- chasing tickets in the Pennsylvania lottery be laid out in tickets in the Elizabethtown lottery, as none can be pro- cured in the former." I suppose these instructions were literally obeyed, for I find a dateless record which reads as follows : " Tickets in the Elizabethtown Lottery-Trustees 17, 1466.7.8. 1746.7.8. 1414." I cannot interpret for you the meaning of these cabalistic numbers ; I cannot tell you whether the tickets drew a prize or not, but I can tell you
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the Fathers had no more conscience on the subject than they had on the keeping of liquor on their sideboards and the proffering the dram to every visitor, and they thought no more of either than you and I do of paying a lawful bill and taking a cup of coffee. A lottery was regarded as a perfectly legitimate business. A wheel of fortune was set up in every village and hamlet. If a little stream was to be bridged, or a public building erected, or a school house repaired, or a street paved, or a road mended, or a college treasury replenished, or a church built, a lottery bill was passed by the Legislature, the tickets were issued, the wheel turned and the money raised. Our godly Fathers would not do a great many things over which their degenerate descendants have no scruples, but they would laugh to scorn that modern and morbid sensi- tiveness (as they would regard it) which today excludes the Louisiana lottery from the United States mail.
So successfully was the preparatory work carried on that Dr. MacWhorter was able, in the month of September, the day of the month and the hour of the day being un- known, to break ground for the new church and to lay " the first stone " in position. The traditions reaching us are that the Pastor, Session and People arranged them- selves according to age and office ; that Dr. MacWhorter, standing at the northeast corner of the lot, made a brief address, offered a prayer, and then took out, with his own hand, the first spadeful of earth. Deacon Caleb Wheeler took out the next. Soon the whole company was at work and the opening of the trenches was completed in a few hours. It is probable that "the first stone " was laid on this occasion, but we have no exact information regarding the date, the location of the stone or the inscription on it, the tablet without and the memorial slab within the church simply stating that Dr. MacWhorter laid the first stone in the month of September. There is, however, a tradition,
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claiming to be traceable back to Deacon Tichenor, which gives September 24th as the day.
And now the great work was fairly under way. Honest and skilful builders soon had the walls above ground, and as they rose higher and higher the materials were hoisted by the aid of a windlass placed in the road, the power being supplied by horses, and the horses in turn being doubtless furnished by the members of the church, since this supposition will alone explain the item of " horse " hire which appears so continuously in the credit account. The only accident reported befell Sayres Coe, son of Benjamin Coe, a boy 19 years of age, who was nearly killed by a beam falling on his shoulder.
The ladies bore their share of the burden by feeding the workmen engaged on the building. Miss Hannah Coe is reported to have said that she cut bread and butter enough to have filled her father's large kitchen to reple- tion, could the product of her toil have been gathered at one time in that place.
But we can readily understand that an architect, be he never so efficient, and workmen, be they never so skilful, even when aided by the windlass and fed by the ladies, could not build this church without money, hence we read in the Trustees' record of a meeting held March 3d, 1788, as follows : "It being represented to the Board that the committees for building the new church found themselves under the necessity of borrowing some money, and that individuals would give their bonds for the money so bor- rowed, if this Board would indemnify the individuals ; the Board, taking the same into consideration, and viewing the said committees as the congregation, appoint Mr. Alling to inform the said committees that, if they would put this request in writing and send it to this Board, they would comply with the same.
" Voted that Andrew Mason and Samuel Hunting-
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don's bond, dated February Ist, 1787, for £22.2.1, be given up to the committee for building the new church, to go in payment of stone purchased of Mr. Huntingdon."
The Trustee records of September 15th, 1788, give us a glance at an act of interdenominational courtesy which ought not to, but which does, seem strange in these pro- gressive days : "The Trustees, considering the great advantage that will result to the town in general from a good clock, and the steeple of the new church being so central that a clock may be heard throughout the town : And the Trustees being informed that the Rev. Mr. Ogden offers to give up the subscription that was raised some time ago for erecting a clock at his church towards the same : Resolved that David Banks, Esq., and Mr. John Burnet be a committee to open a subscription for the purpose aforesaid, and that they be desired to apply to Mr. Moses Ogden and request the favor of him to join them, and to superintend the making of the clock, and that his direction be followed accordingly."
Once more the troublesome money question arises. On July 19th, 1790, the records read : " It being repre- sented by the managers for building the new church that the subscription is nearly run out, and that it will be nec- essary for some engagement to be entered into with the carpenter for the future work, it is unanimously resolved that this Board will fulfil the engagements the said man- agers shall enter into with such carpenters as they may think proper to employ to complete the work."
After this generous proffer, there is a yawning chasm, a great gap, in the Trustees' records. Although the book is free from mutilation, the next entry bears date of Febru- ary 16th, 1793, thus leaping over and giving no account of the dedicatory services. Stranger still, a similar gap ap- pears in the Sessional Records, so that there is not a line in the church books to tell of that august event.
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And I regret to say that the public press fails to sup- plement the deficiencies of church records. The Newark of a century ago could not boast a newspaper. A weekly journal called Woods' Newark Gazette and New Jersey Advertiser made its appearance on May 13th, 1791, four and a half months after the dedication, while the Sentinel of Freedom was not issued until October 5th, 1796, five years and ten months after that event.
Elizabethtown, our nearest neighbor and earliest rival, outstripped Newark in the matter of a local paper. The Nerv Jersey Journal and Political Intelligencer, in its issue of Wednesday, January 5th, 1791, gives a report of the de- bates on the Militia bill ; a list of candidates propounded by the Governor of New Jersey for Representatives in Congress ; the arrival of the British packet Roebuck, Capt. Scoufe, at New York, 39 days from Falmouth, and bring- ing the news of the opening of the British Parliament; a treaty signed between England and Spain ; a contention at Martinique ; a piracy at Basseterre ; an advertisement of the Princeton and Newton Lottery scheme ; the date and place of a negro sale; and then follows this delightful piece of information : " On New Year's day, that elegant building, the Presbyterian Church at Newark, was conse- crated to the service of the true God, and an excellent dis- course was delivered by the venerable Dr. MacWhorter to a large audience." This is all. We know not the text; we know not a word that was said; we know not the Scriptures read, or the hymns sung ; we know not who as- sisted in the conduct of the service; but we do gather, through the aid of this paper, that the dedicatory services must have been held on Saturday, as 1791 came in on that day, a statement confirmed by the testimony of the late Mrs. Oehme, who lived to a very advanced age, but pre- served a remarkable clearness of mind. The day before her death she told me that her parents lived on the north
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side of Market street, between Halsey and Washington ; that one of her earliest recollections was the glowing account that her parents used to give of the grand feast served after the dedication. The tables ran through the halls and parlors of her father's house, and as soon as one table was emptied of guests, it was speedily refilled with others, a style of performance which would not have been tolerated on the Sabbath day by the stern old disciples of that date.
The ground upon which the church, now completed and dedicated, stood, sloped gently toward Market street. In grading the street, which was done by raising the level, the foundation of the church was buried about one foot and a half, bringing the water table near the ground, as we see it today. By reason of this elevation, the entrance to the church originally was by means of two or three steps, at each of the doors. Instead of opening into vestibules as at present, the doors then led directly into the house, and the seats ran flush up to the door. In the later years, some of the seats near the doors were removed to make room for stoves, from which, for a proper consideration, coals might be had to supply the portable foot stoves, then in general use by the older people.
The arrangement of the aisles was very much after the present order, the only exception being a graceful curve in front of the pulpit, and the two pews on either side of the middle aisle conforming thereto. Dr. MacWhorter's family occupied the curved pew on the south side.
But the arrangement for seating was very different. When completed the church had 180 seats and 24 pews, 120 of the seats being on the ground floor and 60 in the gal- leries. The term " seats," as then used, designated what we now call " pews," while the name " pew " was given to that which we now call a box or square or double pew. Both seats and pews were straight, and were at least a foot and a half higher in the back than those you now occupy.
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The pews ran under the galleries until they came within one seat of the end of the middle block, then the seats ran back to the west wall. In the middle block were "seats," with the exception of the two curved pews already men- tioned. The base of the steeple then stood in the church, and around it were seats, ending, as at present, in a square pew on either side of the middle aisle. There were also seats on either side of the pulpit. In the galleries, the seats were arranged in rows of four, save at the east end, where there were five. Two rows of seats ran around the steeple with the stairs coming back of them. There were two aisles in the west gallery, the centre rows of seats being re- served for the choir, who made effective use of the old pitch pipe in getting the key for the service of song.
The pulpit, which stood very high in the air, the pas- tor's feet being nearly, if not quite, on a level with the gallery floor, was white in color and octagonal in form. The preacher entered it by ascending about ten steps on the north side, walking along a level platform in the rear of the pulpit, which stood out some distance from the east wall of the church ; then ascending two or three steps on the south side, he found the door, through which he obtained access into the sacred desk, which was surmounted with an enor- mous sounding board, conforming in shape to the general contour of the pulpit, and handsomely carved in accord with the ornamentation of the church, a sample of which is given in the dove, star and cornucopia overhanging this pulpit arch.
Dr. Stearns says that the old pulpit from which Mac- Whorter and Griffen and Richards preached was given to a church in Paterson ; was afterwards sold by them; was bought by the Roman Catholics; was used, and for aught that I know to the contrary, may be still used by them in their church at Paterson, where, having mounted it on rollers, they push it to the various parts of the chancel, according to the needs of their service.
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Back of the pulpit was a large Venetian window, con- sisting of three parts, the central part, which was higher than the two sides, being curved on the top, while the two sides were square. The central part was panelled during Dr. Richards' pastorate, to protect him from draft.
The recess beneath the pulpit was enclosed by a wooden partition, which was about 5 feet high, followed the general curve of the front aisle, and like the pews of the church was made to represent mahogany. In this recess or chancel, Dr. Uzal Ogden, who had been the rector of Trinity Church but had left in consequence of some misun- derstanding, was accustomed to sit during the church ser- vices.
It is difficult to give you in words an idea of the orig- inal ceiling, which must have been beautiful. Trinity Church ceiling was modelled after it, but lacked the height which this house afforded. Instead of being square and right angled, the sides of the church were arched, giving in the slope an additional height of ten feet to this ceiling, at least so I should judge from a study of the plaster marks in the attic. These arches terminated in a graceful panel, run- ning the length of the church. From this panel were sus- pended three iron rods, painted blue, except at certain intervals, where the rods were twisted and the twists were gilded. At the end of these rods, three very handsome glass chandeliers hung, while on either side of the church, under the galleries, there were sconces to hold lights. The illumination of the church was derived from tallow candles, and if evening services were held. the hour of assemblage was usually "at early candle light." The change in the ceiling was made to accommodate one of the pastors, who found it difficult to fill so large a building with his voice.
Shortly after the dedication, in accordance with the fifth article of the agreement, the following declaration was issued :
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" Be it remembered that we, Caleb Wheeler, William P. Smith, Moses Farrand, Caleb Camp, Samuel Hayes, Isaac Plum, Nathaniel Camp, Benjamin Coe, Abiel Cam- field, Joseph Banks, Joseph Davis, Abraham Ward, Isaac Alling and Daniel Johnson, the committee appointed to build the new church, being met, pursuant to the order and direction of the subscribers, as contained in the subscrip- tion, to consider of and agree upon the most eligible plan of seating the house and selling the pews, so as to do justice to the subscribers, and, if possible, give satisfaction to all, have, after due deliberation, concluded to sell them, at vendue, in the church upon the following terms : The vendue to begin on Tuesday, the Ist day of February next, at one of the clock in the afternoon, agreeably to public notice repeatedly given by the Rev. Dr. MacWhorter from the desk, the vendue to be adjourned from time to time as circumstances may require :
" First. The pews are all to be numbered and marked.
" Secondly. They are all to be appraised according to the supposed relative value, so that the whole may amount to £7,000.
" Thirdly. No seat or pew shall be set up to sale un- less some person shall bid for it the sum at which it is appraised or more, and then it shall be struck off to him unless some person shall bid above him, the highest bidder always to be the purchaser, and he and his heirs shall for- ever have an exclusive right to his seat, and shall quietly and peacefully hold and possess it, without any molestation or interruption whatever; provided always that he hath paid or shall pay the price at which it was struck off, to the satisfaction of the committee.
" Fourthly. No person shall be permitted for the pres- ent to purchase more than two common seats or one square pew, notwithstanding he may have paid or shall be willing to pay the price of more ; but if hereafter his family should
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increase so that more room should be thought necessary for them, he or they may purchase any vacant seats or pews under the above restrictions.
" Fifthly. If two or more persons shall be desirous of uniting in purchasing one pew or seat, they shall have lib- erty to do so, and may jointly hold and possess it.
" Sixthly. The number and situation of each pew and seat, together with the name of the purchaser, and the price for which it shall be sold, shall be plainly marked on a plan of the building drawn upon parchment by order of the committee, to which these articles are to be prefixed, a fair copy of all which shall be made and entered in the church book containing the particulars of the account of every subscriber, which record shall always be esteemed sufficient evidence of the purchaser's title to that pew or seat, and his posterity's after him.
"And we do appoint Nathaniel Camp, Benjamin Coe, Joseph Banks, Joseph Davis and Daniel Johnson a sub- committee to hold the vendue and sell the seats as agreed upon and directed.
" Newark, January, 1791."
That these directions were literally obeyed is proven by the parchment in the custody of our Trustees.
It is pleasing to note that "virtue was its own sweet reward " in those early days, as it is now. To Miss Hannah Coe, the young lady to whom reference has been made as cooperating so heartily in the work of church erection by her untiring diligence in the bread and butter department, pertains the peculiar glory of being the first lady to be married in the new church by Dr. MacWhorter. She be- came the wife of Matthias Bruen of Perth Amboy, and the mother of the Rev. Matthias Bruen, for many years the faithful and efficient pastor of the Bleecker Street Church, New York City. Her husband occupied that handsome Bruen mansion in Perth Amboy, which, by the munificence
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of Alexander Bruen, has been dedicated as a home for aged and disabled Presbyterian ministers.
The work wrought by Wm. Camp, in secret, deserves proclamation from the housetop. It appears that the mud ៛in front of the church was so deep that it was almost im- possible to enter. One morning the villagers were aston- ished to find a comfortable sidewalk laid and ready for use. Being a singularly modest man, Mr. Camp had had the work done by night, in order that no one might know who did it.
Whether the building committee made an underesti- mate when they set £7,000 as the sum necessary to be realized from the sale of pews to liquidate the debt of the church, or whether the sale did not realize the amount sug- gested, does not appear ; but it is very plain, although the church was built, dedicated and used, it was not paid for, and, strangest of all, it seems as though none of the men of that day could determine its exact cost.
At a meeting of the Trustees, held May 21st, 1793, " the President laid before the Board that he had received a second payment of £232, 15 s. on the sale of the old church, which he was authorized to use in discharging bonds." This payment was made on the basis of a contract entered into during the building of the church, as follows :
" Whereas, the Board of Justices and Chosen Free- holders of the County of Essex did agree to purchase of the Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church in Newark the lott of land adjoining the court house lott in Newark, with the house or building thereon, for which they did agree to give the sum of £300, and did appoint Abiel Cam- field, Henry Geritz and Stephen Crane, Esq., a committee to receive the said deed, as will appear by the record of this proceeding duly entered, therefore we, the subscribers, in obedience to said order, do acknowledge that we have received of the said Trustees of the First Presbyterian
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Church in Newark the deed for said premises, duly execu- . ted and acknowledged, agreeably to the said bargain and agreement with the said Justices and Freeholders.
" As witness our hand this 2Ist day of September, , I790. " STEPHEN CRANE,
" HENRY GERITZ,
" ABIEL CAMFIELD."
But the sale of the old church and the application of the proceeds did not cancel the debt on the new building.
On January 3rd, 1794, three years after the dedication, " Mr. Caleb Bruen laid before the Board his account for work done at the new church, and requested that the Trustees would either pay the same or give him an obliga- tion under the seal of the corporation for the amount. It is ordered unanimously that the same be allowed and that the President do execute an obligation accordingly."
On January 10th, 1794, " a committee to receive the books and papers relative to the new church " was ap- pointed ; but matters seem to have been in great confusion, for on April 7th, 1794, " Mr. Samuel Baldwin, to whom the Board had committed the examination and adjustment of the books of the new church, reported that he had attempt- ed to open an account against the new church, agreeably to the request of the Trustees, in order to ascertain what the building cost, and how much we were in debt for the same, but that he found so many difficulties in the accounts, from the mode in which they were kept, that he doubted whether he could accomplish it. The Board resolved that Mr. Baldwin be requested to accomplish the business, if possi- ble, and also make an abstract of the persons who appear to be debtors to the church."
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