USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > Perth Amboy > Contributions to the early history of Perth Amboy and adjoining country : with sketches of men and events in New Jersey during the provincial era > Part 23
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In 1714, Mr. Vaughan took up his residence in Amboy for the benefit of his health, and at the request of the people, officiated there one Sunday in every four, going to Elizabeth- town and Woodbridge the other three ; and this arrangement continued with little intermission for several years.
On the 30th July, 1718,18 a charter was granted to the congregation by Governor Robert Hunter, acting in behalf of his sovereign, George I., in which William Eier 19 and John
The kind-hearted Vaughan, be- Willocks, Sept. 22d, 1718, says: "As fore Halliday had been two months at his post, wrote: "Mr. H. is not so happy as to gain their affections in this country ; every failure in him or in us is improved to the contempt of our ministry. I cannot say he has been so circumspect and prudent in his con- duct as became his character." Sept. 12, 1711.
16 Halliday himself says under date of April 14, 1714 :- "They most con- temptuously carried away all the goods of the Church, and at the same time told me to be gone; that I was a knave and a villain."
17 Gov. Hunter writing to George
to that wretch Dr. Halliday, I wish the countrey could get ridd of him at any rate. I shall transmitt to the society what the vestry sent, but if the same faction prevails there (of which your good friends and Nicholson, are the heads) he'll be in no danger from them, or the B[ishop ] of L[on- don ] either, on that account."-Ru- therfurd MSS.
18 Proprietary Records, Vol. 9, C. 2, p. 16.
19 This gentleman's "houses and lands near the middle of the town of Woodbridge " were advertised for sale 1732. He was then dead.
218
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
Barclay were appointed Wardens ; Thomas Gordon, John Rudyard, Robert King and John Stevens, Vestrymen.
To Mr. Gordon, George Willocks, and John Barclay is the church indebted for the ground on which the present edifice stands, and for other lands in the vicinity of the town. Mr. Willocks, also, at the particular request of his wife on her death-bed, shortly afterward conveyed to the church the house in which they lived, and two acres of land adjoining, in the most desirable part of the town, for the use for ever of the clergyman officiating in the parish ; and at his death bequeathed to the congregation the ferry over the Raritan, with the ad- joining lots. The parsonage and grounds were valued at £400 sterling, and the gift was highly prized.2º The build- ing, somewhat changed in its appearance, stood, although in a dilapidated condition, until 1844, having for many years served as the residence of the several incumbents ; its use, however, as a parsonage having been superseded by the erection of a new one in 1815. In addition to these benefactions, in June, 1719, John Harrison and Mr. Willocks gave twelve acres of land contiguous to the city for the use of the church for ever.
To the memory of these liberal benefactors 21 the congre- gation, in 1825, erected a tablet in the church, bearing this inscription :-
20 Records-Mr. Vaughan's letters.
21 See pp. 42, 60, 80, for notices of these gentlemen. The minutes of the Vestry and the reports of Mr. Vaughan mention John Barclay as one who had contributed generously to build and support the church, but his name was not included in the tablet because it could not be ascertained in what way he had aided in the enterprise-rather an insufficient excuse, and to me the omission seems unfortunate. From Mr. Vaughan's letters it is evident he contributed land, and the probability is that he also furnished ready money, an article of which there is reason to believe Mr. Barclay was himself much in want before his death. From the
minutes of the Vestry it appears that on April 4th, 1727, John Parker, Esq., and Mr. Heron Putland were appoint- ed a committee to estimate the old church and lot of land belonging to it ; which they did at twenty pounds, money at eight shillings per ounce, and reported accordingly on the 30th May. It was then ordered " that the same be made over and conveyed to John Barclay, Esq., for the considera- tion of the said sum of twenty pounds as part payment of a greater sum hereto- fore by him laid out and expended, in erecting the new church." There is no evidence in the Church records of any further payment.
219
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
THIS TABLET is designed to express the gratitude of the Congregation of St. Peter's Church in this city to the benefactors of the said church, whose names follow : GEORGE WILLOCKS who died in 1729; MARGARET WILLOCKS his wife who died in 1722 ; THOMAS GORDON who died April 28, 1722 and JOHN HARRISON.
They loved the habitation of God's house and the place where his honour dwelleth. .
Erected A.D. 1825.
The congregation by the receipt of their charter having become regularly established, commenced the erection of their church -- an event to which they had been looking forward with great anxiety for several years. It was begun in the spring of 1719,22 and was completely inclosed early in 1722, when it was dedicated to the service of Almighty God, by the name of " St. Peters." It was, at first, merely an oblong building of the most simple architecture, forty-eight feet long and thirty broad-crowning the beautiful knoll that overlooks the waters of the bay, which still, after the lapse of one hundred and thirty years, possesses so much that is appropriate in its char- acter to the sacred purpose for which it was selected. Save in the additions made to the number of the silent tenants of the graves around, but few changes had been wrought in its appearance by the passage of time until in 1852, when the old building was removed to give place to a more commodious modern structure. Many in long succession had received upon their brows within its ancient walls the sacred symbol of " Christ's faithful servants,"-before its chancel pledged their marriage vows,-participated in the privileges and blessings of Christian worship, and been borne from the inner congregation
22 In June, 1719, it was alluded to as "now erecting."
220
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
to swell the one without ;-- the living and the dead of one com- munion all. Holy men of God and patriarchs, the legislator and the jurist, the artist and the soldier, the matron and the maid,23 are there again gathered ; and there, too, are the babes -who were " carried to their little cells of felicity" (as they are termed by Jeremy Taylor) after wearing "an uneasy gar- ment " for a brief period-entering first upon that secure pos- session towards which parents and kindred are yet toiling :
"Far better they should sleep awhile Within the church's shade, Nor wake, until new heav'n and new earth Meet for their new immortal birth For their abiding place be made ; Than wander back to life, and lean On our frail love once more."
It cannot be that the silent monitions, which speak to the eyes of a worshipper from every side of such a field of the dead, can fall powerless upon the soul. Few can do otherwise than adopt the language of a recent writer24 and say :- " With old Sir Thomas Browne I love to see a church in a graveyard, for ' even as we pass through the place of graves to the temple of God on earth, so we must pass through the grave to the temple of God on high.'"
Previous to the revolution, an avenue of locusts led to the church from the street in front of it, and others stood around the building, but with the exception of one or two old and decaying trees they have all disappeared.
The completion of the church rendered the congregation more anxious for regular and frequent services ; and on 27th March, 1723, at a meeting of communicants, an ad- dress was adopted to the Bishop of London and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, praying the appointment of a missionary (should they not approve of the removal of the Rev. Mr. Vaughan from Elizabethtown to Amboy, which they requested might be permitted) ; that he might " settle among them in the character and relation of a pastor and guide to
23 In Amboy was retained, until a own sex and age, clothed in white and few years since, the old affecting cus- wearing white veils. tom of having young females attended 24 Wm. C. Prime in "Owl Creek Letters." to the grave by pall-bearers of their
221
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
them in things appertaining to God." 25 The Society, how- ever, had previously, unknown to the congregation, appointed the Rev. William Skinner to be their missionary, and he com- menced his labors at Amboy in the autumn of 1722, being received by the people with much kindness and civility.26
Although the church had been walled in a year previous, yet it was not until the arrival of Mr. Skinner that measures were taken to fit up the interior. On the 10th September, 1723, the wardens were directed forthwith to employ work- men to level and lay the floor of the church, and build a pulpit, reading-desk and altar. These directions were carried out, but pews were not ordered to be built until three years after- ward (September 23d, 1728).27 It was directed that they should all be uniform in size and appearance, and that the different families should construct their respective pews at their own expense, under the superintendence of the wardens, and when completed to hold the same as their property for ever. This provision operated of course to retard their erec- tion, and we consequently do not find any steps taken to carry out these improvements until 1731. In the meanwhile (April 7th, 1724), Mr. Skinner received a call from the congregation to become the regular incumbent of the rectorship of the church, and a petition for his induction was addressed to the Governor.
It was at first intended to occupy part of the body of the church with a vestry room and staircase to the gallery, but this plan in April, 1731, was abandoned-a greater demand for pews existing, probably, than was expected-and it was "agreed that the whole body of the church, after allowance made for the aisle, be pewed." 28 On the 28th June, half the pews were completed, but it was not until December 10th that
25 Minutes of Vestry.
26 Mr. Chapman's Discourse gives the date as 1723, but Mr. Skinner states in a letter to the Secretary, of March, 1722-3, that he arrived at Amboy on the 22d November previous. He was not, however, regularly inducted into his living before September 11th, 1724.
27 At this meeting resolutions of
thanks were passed to the widow of Rev. John Talbot for the present of a silver chalice and ewer, and a silver paten, which are still used in the ser- vices of the church.
28 Andrew Sharp did the work for seventy-five pounds, New Jersey cur- rency.
222
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
they were all finished and ready to be alloted to the mem- bers of the congregation.
EAST.
6
£6 07
7
*£6 07
Jno. Johnston.
Chancel.
R. L. Hooper.
5
£6 07
J. Hamilton.
and Elizabeth Johnston.
4
£6 17
Wm. Skinner.
3
£6 17
Jno. Parker.
2
£6 17
Philip Kearny.
Jno Ritchie.
Geo. Leslie.
F. Lyell.
A. Johnston.
£6 17|13
£6 17 14
£6 17|15
£6 17 16
SOUTH.
24
*$6 07
Michael Kearny.
23
£6 07
Gabriel Stelle.
22
£6 07
Andrew Hay.
21
£5 12
Richard Hughes.
Thomas Frost and
20
*£5 12
Eleanor Williams.
19
*£5 02
John Sharp.
17
Peter Savery and Henry Berry, jr.
*£5 02
18
Jos. Leig, Richard Bishop, and *£5 02 Wm. Davenport.
Door.
WEST.
J Webb.
Harman Stout.
Aaron Faitout.
£5 12
£5 12
£5 07
12
11
10
co
Rector.
1
£6 17
Pulp it and
Reading Desk.
NORTH.
Ursula Parker
8
*£6 07
Door.
223
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
The Vestry taking into consideration "the ruinous condi- tion of several other parts of the church," proceeded to fix the rate at which the several pews were to be taxed over and above their actual cost, in order to raise a fund for making the neces- sary repairs. It is to be hoped that, though their temporali- ties were in so sad a condition, the congregation may have been rich in their spiritual concerns.
The preceding plan shows the probable arrangement 29 of the floor of the church as divided at this time, with the name of the occupant and rate of each pew.
Those pews marked with an asterisk were declared for- feited August 6th, 1751, in consequence of non-payment of their cost, and they were bought, No. 7, by Philip Kearny ; No. 8, by John Johnston ; No. 17, by Thomas Fox ; No. 18, by Griffin Desbrow ; No. 19, by Elias Marsh ; No. 20, by Thomas Skinner, jr. ; No. 24, by John Barberrie.
At the same meeting which decided the construction of pews throughout the body of the church, the minutes of the Vestry state the gratifying fact that the pews thus planned would not be sufficient for the congregation, and it was con- sequently determined that the money raised by the rates laid upon them should be expended in "pewing the gallery and doing such other things as may be necessary to complete the same ; " from which it appears the gallery had not yet been finished although nine years had elapsed since the erec- tion of the church.30 But alas ! the generation that wanted
29 "The probable arrangement "-as no plan exists in the Church records. On Easter Tuesday, 1737, "It was agreed that Col. Robert Lettice Hoop- er and Mr. Lawrence Smyth have liberty to render the pews to them in said church belonging [the pews on each side of the chancel, it is pre- sumed ] more convenient by boarding the walls and raising a canopy over said pews as shall to them seem most fit, provided that uniformity and exact likeness be maintained."
30 From a fragment of a subscription list in my possession it appears that the ground was enclosed and the church plastered in 1737. The names and amounts on the paper are : "John
Hamilton £7; R. L. Hooper £3 10s .; Andrew Johnston £3 10s. ; Fenwick Lyell £3 10s .; Lewis Johnston £5; Lawrence Smyth £3 10s .; Adam Hay £3 10s .; James Hooper £2 10s. On June 4th, 1736, the Congregation of St. Peter's Freehold received their charter. In this year (1736) the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel had sixty-two missionaries in the Colo- nies : - In New England 8; New- foundland 1; New York 16; New Jersey 6 ; Pennsylvania 8; N. Caro- lina 1; S. Carolina 9; Georgia 1; Bahamas 1. Their salaries amounted to £3,015. They had each ten pounds worth of books and five pounds worth of tracts annually for distribution.
224
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
seats might have passed away, and probably did, before the pews in the gallery were ready for them. They were not com- menced till May, 1753, and it was not till September 17th that they were in a condition to be rented.
On the 23d August, 1742, a measure was adopted which, followed subsequently by others, gave to the church the appear- ance it wore at the time of its demolition. Dr. Lewis John- ston and " Capt. Samuel Nevill " were appointed a Committee to make such repairs to the building and premises as " they in their judgment should for decency's sake think fit to be done," and they were directed to "use their utmost and speedy en- deavors to erect a steeple of brick and lime at the west end of and adjoining to said church ; "-but so far as the steeple was concerned several years elapsed before any thing was done.
When Mr. Skinner entered upon his duties at Amboy in 1722, the number of communicants reported by him was about 20 ; and although there were but few capable of contributing to his support, he gratefully acknowledges the receipt of £18 13s. 4d. : one third of which, however, was from the Provin- cial government. He "might have expected more," he says in his report, " were it not for the expenses they had incurred." The number of families belonging to the congregation he esti- mated in 1724 to be above 70 ; he ordinarily had 150 auditors in summer, and from 60 to 90 in winter. His custom was to preach in the morning and catechise the children in the after- noon. Every third Sunday he officiated at Piscataway, and occasionally visited Woodbridge in the afternoon. He also took under his charge the people of Monmouth County, and in 1726 commenced officiating regularly for them once a month ; and through his exertions the congregation there rapidly increased. In an appeal for a resident missionary which he made in their behalf in 1732, he states that when he last visited them he baptized 26 children, and his auditors were thought to be 600 in number. He expected to go to them again before Christmas, to administer the communion to 40 or 50, and baptize 30 children, "work enough," he adds, " for a winter's day."
In 1741, although his congregation had not enlarged, the
225
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
number of his communicants had increased to 53, and his ser- vices at Piscataway were appreciated by large assemblages. About 1745, the Monmouth congregations having been for some time supplied with regular services from resident mission- aries, Mr. Skinner took under his care the South River settle- ment, which appears to have profited by his occasional services for several years.
.
In 1747, in consequence of Governor Morris having fixed his residence at Trenton, Amboy had lost many of its popula- tion, and the winter of 1746-7 proving fatal to many from the prevalence of the smallpox, St. Peter's congregation fell off materially-Mr. Skinner's auditors numbering one hundred or less ;- but he subsequently reports that the church was again prospering, and the minutes of the vestry give evidence of a larger attendance in succeeding years. 31
In 1758 the congregation was deprived by death of the labors of their pastor and friend. After thirty-six years of faithful service he went to his reward, having attained the allotted span of "threescore years and ten."32
In 1759 the Rev. Philip Hughes was appointed Missionary to Amboy, but declined the situation, and the congregation remained in consequence without any stated services for that and part of the next year; during which the Rev. Mr. Palmer entered the station and continued to officiate as Missionary until about 1762, when he resigned and removed to New Haven, Connecticut. 33
In February, 1763, the Rev. Robert Mckean arrived with a notification of his appointment as Missionary, and entered at once upon his duties at Perth Amboy exclusively, to which his services were restricted at the request of the vestry ; it having been the society's intention that he should also officiate at Woodbridge. The previous year he had officiated at Pisca- taway. In April, 1764, he reports the number of families
31 Such was the want of room in the church at Amboy in 1751, that Mrs. Stelle, widow of Gabriel Stelle, who with two daughters occupied a pew, was specially directed by the Vestry " to take in two such creditable per- sons as the Vestry should nominate,
such persons paying their proportion of the fees, three persons not being sufficient to fill a pew."
32 Records of Soc. for Prop. Gos. Mr. Chapman's Discourses.
33 Rev. Mr. Chapman's Hist. Dis- courses.
15
226
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
professing to belong to the Church of England as between 40 and 50; and there were 12 or 15 more that attended upon his services in preference to any other-" these together," he states, "include near two thirds of the inhabitants ; the rest . are Presbyterians chiefly, and a few Quakers." His commu- nicants numbered 34.
It is not stated in the records when the tower or steeple, directed to be built in 1742, was undertaken ; but in April, 1764, a committee were authorized "to carry on the outside walls of the church as far as the end of the steeple and enclose it, and to build a plain spire on the top of the steeple, and do any other matter the vestry shall think necessary towards completing the same." This added about twelve feet to the length of the church and made space for a small robing-room, and stairway to the gallery. The cost of these additions was defrayed by means of a Lottery, authorized in 1762 for the benefit of the church, and which was drawn in 1764 under the direction of Messrs. Sargant and Smyth.34 It was not then considered contrary to good morals to encourage lotteries, and schemes for every kind of object were yearly set on foot.35
34 Their accounts were closed in congregations in the province, from 1767, and they reported they had ex- which the following table is compiled : pended-
For the Church - - £581 8
6
Parsonage, Glebe, &c. 305 3
3
Long Ferry Property - 3.0 2
" Payment of Prizes - 1772 14 8
" Expenses of Lottery - 7 7 1
£2669 13 8
The particulars of the lottery are not given.
During Mr. McKean's incumbency (1765) the lady of Governor Franklin presented a new surplice to the church, thanks for which were specially re- turned by a delegation of the Vestry. The church plate in 1767 comprised 1 Flagon, 2 Chalices, and 1 Salver.
36 For a notice of some of these lot- teries see a subsequent chapter.
Smith in his History of the Province published in 1765, gives information respecting the number of the various
Middlesex Co. Episcopalians 5 ; Presbyte- rians 7; Quakers 4; Baptists 2; Seventh-day Baptists 1; Low Dutch Calvinists 1.
Monmouth Co. Episcopalians 4; Presbyte- rians 6; Quakers 3; Baptists 4.
Essex Co. Episcopalians 3; Presbyterians 7; Baptists 1; Dutch Calvinists 2.
Somerset Co. Presbyterians 3; Low Dutch Reformed 5; Dutch Lutheran 1; Baptist 1.
Bergen Co. Dutch Calvinists 7; Dutch Lutherans 2.
Burlington Co. Episcopalians 2; Presbyte- rians 1; Quakers 15; Baptists 1.
Gloucester Co. Episcopalians 1; Presbyte- rians 5; Swedish Lutherans 1; Baptists 1; Moravians 1: Quakers 7.
Salem Co. Episcopalians 2; Quakers 4; Dutch Lutherans 1; Presbyterians 3; Bap- tists 2.
Cumberland Co. Episcopalians 1; Presby - terians 4; Baptists 2; Seventh-day Baptists 1, Quakers 1.
Cape May Co. Presbyterians 1; Quakers 1; Baptists 1.
Hunterdon Co. Episcopalians 3 ; Presbyte- rians 9; Low Dutch Calvinists 1; German Presbyterians 1; Quakers 2; Baptists 2.
Morris Co. Presbyterians 9; Lutherans 1
227
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
The sketch here introduced is a faithful representation of the church as it appeared before its demolition, while yet the ru- merous poplars surrounding it were unaffected by age.
0 .
OLD ST. PETER'S CHURCH, 1832.
Mr. McKean died October 17th, 1767. He had officiated as missionary for more than four years, and left an excellent character both as a clergyman and physician, having practised in the latter capacity during his residence in Amboy.36 He was a brother of Governor Mckean of Pennsylvania, who
Anabaptists 1; Quakers 1; Separatists 1; Rogerians 1.
Sussex Co. Low Dutch Calvinists 5; Bap- tists 2; German Lutherans 1; Quakers 1.
Summary.
Episcopalians -
.
- 21
Presbyterians -
55
Quakers
-
-
39
Baptists
. .
2)
Seventh-day Baptists
2
Low Dutch Calvinists or Reformed
21
Dutch Lutheran
Swedish Lutheran
1
Moravians -
-
1
German Lutheran
-
2
Separatists ·
-
.
·
Rogerians -
.
-
-
Lutherans .
-
-
.
1
Total - 169 -
36 He married the daughter of Hon. Edward Antill, of Raritan Landing-a young lady of very gay and indepen- dent spirit, not calculated, it is said, to enhance the domestic happiness of the reverend missionary. Her mother, who was a Morris, inherited some of the eccentricities of the males of that family.
On one occasion Mr. Antill, who was himself an oddity, lamented to his wife the degeneracy of the women of that day, spending their time in idleness or profitless pursuits, instead of " abiding in the fields with their maidens," as- sisting in gathering the wheat or the rye, the flax or the barley. It chanced to be at a time when the farmers were pulling their flax, and the following morning, on coming down from his chamber, Mr Antill found himself the sole occupant of the house, Mrs. A. had gone out with her servants. Find- ing that no meal was to be procured, he sallied forth in search of his house- hold, and at last discovered his wife according to his wishes, she said, " abiding in the field with her maidens" pulling flax. He was invited to par- take of the refreshment they had pro- vided for themselves, but it was im- possible for her to return home before the evening
-
4
-
1
1
228
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
reared a tombstone above his remains, which were deposited in rear of the church. It bears the following inscription :-
In memory of The REV. ROBERT MCKEAN, M.A., Practitioner in Physic, &c., And Missionary from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign parts, to the City of Perth Amboy :- Who was born July 13th, 1732, N.S., and died October 17th, 1767, An unshaken friend, An agreeable companion, A rational divine, A skilful physician, And in every relation of life a truly benevolent and honest man, Fraternal love hath erected this monument.
Immediately after the death of Mr. McKean measures were taken to secure a successor, and in the meanwhile the Rev. Mr. Preston, Chaplain to the 26th Regiment, then quartered at Amboy, was requested to officiate-the necessary funds for his remuneration to be raised by subscription. Mr. Preston acceded to their request, but refused all compensation save the occupancy of the parsonage. So well satisfied were the congregation with this arrangement, that no further steps towards procuring a missionary seem to have been taken until December, 1758. At that time the Rev. Mr. Brown, Mission- ary at Newark, 37 informed the Vestry that he had the Society's permission to remove to Amboy, and wished to know if it would be agreeable to the congregation for him to do so. A meeting was held, and some dissent to the arrangement being expressed, Mr. Brown immediately relinquished the mission. 38
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