USA > New Jersey > Somerset County > Raritan > Forty years at Raritan : eight memorial sermons with notes for a history of the Reformed Dutch churches in Somerset County, N.J. > Part 17
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congregations, formerly a part of his father's charge, under pro- mising auspices. His first effort was to heal divisions, but the troublesome Arondeus was among his people laboring to prevent it. He built himself a house in Somerville with bricks which had been sent over with him from Holland, and commeneed by hin- self a theological school, in which several young men were fitted. for the ministry ; and every thing promised fair in the future, when he was suddenly arrested by death. He died on Long Is- land, probably at the house of his mother's parents, on his way to the Coetus, on the 15th day of September, 1754, when he had preached only three years and one month to his people.
He married Dinah Van Bergh, of Amsterdam, a woman of extraordinary culture and piety, who was afterward known as Jaffvrow Hardenbergh, and is yet remembered at Raritan by the children of those who' had enjoyed the savor of her piety. He was the only son of T. J. Frelinghuysen who left descendants, and is, therefore, the ancestor of all who have since borne that name.
Jacobus Frelinghuysen, another son of T. J. Frelinghuysen, graduated at Princeton 1750, studied theology under Goetehius, went to Holland, and was licensed by the Classis of Utrecht, 1753. He had been called by the churches of Warwarsing, Rochester, and Marbletown, in the county of Ulster, but died on his passage to America, it is said, from small-pox.
Ferdinandus Frelinghuysen, another son of T. J. Frelinghuysen, was with his brother in Holland, and licensed at the same time. He studied under Dorstius and Goetehius, and had been called to Kinderhook, but on his way home, in the same vessel with his brother, he also died; and so perished on the sea two of the most promising young ministers which the church in that day had in ex- pectation-a sad commentary on the absurd doctrine that the churches in America ought not to have the privilege of ordaining their own ministers after she had educated them.
Henricus Frelinghnysen, another and the youngest son of T. J. Frelinghuysen, studied theology under Dorstius and Goetehius, but did not go to Holland for licensure. The fate of his two brothers seems to have deterred him. Indeed, it had much to do with the result, soon after reached, and the determination of the Coetus to license their own candidates. Ile seems, in fact, to have been preaching at Warwarsing, Rochester, and Marbletown for almost a year before he was really authorized to preach; but in 1755 he
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was formally admitted to the ministry, and settled in the above- mentioned churches, disappointed in the death of his brother Jaeo- bus. When Theodore of Albany communicated to them the news of the disaster at sea, they immediately offered the position to Henrieus. But disaster seemed to be the order of Providence in regard to the young Frelinghuysens ! John died in 1754, Jacobus and Ferdinandus in 1753, and now Henrieus, in 1757, deceased at the house of Mrs. Bevier, at Naponoek, of small pox, only a fortnight after he had been ordained at Marbletown. 1Iis remains were interred in the last-named church, under the pulpit. In 1759, two years subsequently, Theodore went to sea, and was never heard from. In this way, in less than ten years after the death of the father, T. J. Frelinghuysen, the whole of his five sons were in their graves, leaving a little ehild named Frederick, the only son of John, and a daughter named Eva, as the only representa- tives of the hame in America.
The two daughters, Anna and Margaret, both connected them- selves by marriage with elergymen. Anna married the Rev. Wil- liam Jackson, long pastor of the church of Bergen. The follow- ing epitaph is inseribed on the stone at the head of her grave : " Anna Frelinghuysen, consort of Rev. William Jackson, who de- parted this life May 3d, 1810, aged 72 years." Her husband, Rev. William Jackson, departed this life July 25th, 1813, aged 81 years.
Margaretta Frelinghuysen, wife of Rev. T. Romeyn, was born November 12th, 1737, married June 29th, 1756, died at Jamaica, Long Island, December 23d, 1757, leaving an only child, T. F. Romeyn, successor of Dr. Hardenbergh, at Raritan. She was the eldest of the two daughters of T. J. Frelinghuysen. Thus Anna F., Mrs. Jackson, of all the children, lived to the period of a good old age, surviving as the last of her family from 1759 to 1810.
The last years of Mr. Frelinghuysen's ministry are left in ob- scurity. Even the time of his death is only approximately ascer- tained as being previous to April, 1748. His residence during the last years of his life was on a farm of 200 acres, bought of Daniel Hendrickson for £550, near Three-Mile Run, forming a part of the land now or lately owned by John Brunson. It is described as being bounded on the south-east by the land of Daniel Hen- driekson, north-east by the pretended line of the heirs or assigns of Peter Sonmans, north-west by David Seguire, south-west and north-west by Cornelius Bennet. IIe lived at one time in Burnet street, New-Brunswick ; but the exact locality can not be satisfac-
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torily ascertained. He lives in his deeds, and his monument is found in the results of his life, and his abounding labors for Christ's church.
After the sudden death of John Frelinghuysen, in 1754, the atten- tion of the congregation was directed to Jacob Rutzen Hardenbergh, one of his students, who resided in his family at the time of his death, and subsequently became the husband of his widow, Dinah Van Bergh. Hardenbergh was the son of Colonel Johannes Harden- bergh, of Rosendale, the original proprietor of the "Hardenbergh patent" in Ulster County, and was born in 1738. The date of this patent is April 23d, 1708, and the associates of Hardenbergh were Leonard Lewis, Philip Rokeby, William Nottingham, Benjamin Fanuel, Peter Fanconer, and Robert Livingston. It embraced the whole of Sullivan County, and all that part of Delaware east of the west or Mohawk branch of Delaware River.
After his marriage to Mrs. Frelinghuysen, Hardenbergh took her to his father's house, and continued his studies until he was licensed in 1758. He immediately returned to Raritan to occupy the house " built by John Frelinghuysen, and had charge of Raritan, North- Branch, Neshanich, and Millstone. IIe continued in this charge until 1761, when he went to Holland to bring out from thence his wife's mother, then a widow, and was accompanied from London by Rev. Ilermanus Meyers, afterward settled at Kingston. In 1763, Mill- stone and Harlingen separated from the other congregations, and called the Rev. I. M. Van Harlingen, leaving Hardenbergh Raritan, North-Branch, (since Readington,) and Bedminster. He received the honor of D.D. from Princeton College in 1770, while pastor here. In 1781, he resigned his charge in New-Jersey and removed to his father's residence, taking charge, in the mean time, of the church of Rochester, in its immediate vicinity.
The following notice of J. R. Hardenbergh was originally written and published in Sprague's Annals. We reclaim it for ourselves, now, and present it as containing all that is known of its subject.
Jacobus Rutzen Hardenbergh was born at Rosendale, in the pre- sent county of Ulster, (N. Y.,) in the year 1737. IIe belonged to what has sometimes been denominated "the Dutch aristocracy of the State of New-York." Ilis ancestor, Johannes Hardenbergh, who was by birth a Prussian, migrated to this country some time after the middle of the seventeenth century, and is said to have been connected, as an officer, with the British service. He left two sons, one of whom set- tled on Long Island and the other at Rosendale, about eight miles.
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southwest of the village of Kingston. In connection with Robert Livingston he purchased a patent of land, comprehending the whole of the present county of Sullivan, and all that part of Delaware which lies east of the west or Mohawk branch of the Delaware River, and is yet known in the history of New-York as " the Hardenbergh patent." His grandson, Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh, the father of J. R. Hardenbergh, inherited a large share in this immense estate, and resided in the original manorial mansion, where the subject of the present notice was born.
His early education, and especially his knowledge of the elassies, was probably obtained at the academy of Kingston. How long he remained in this seminary, or to what extent he pursued the study of the Latin and Greek languages, is not known. It is presumed, however, that it did not embrace a very thorough course, as every historical notice of his education agrees in asserting that he had not enjoyed the same advantages of learning as most of his eontempo- raries in the ministry of the Dutch Church. Indeed, the want of sufficient early learning is one of the most prominent faets in his history, as it has been transmitted to posterity in those brief notices of his life which remain.
Nor are we able to give any account of the cirenmstanees or the time of his conversion. His father belonged to the Coetus or evan- gelieal party in the church, which indicates that he enjoyed the ad- vantages of early religious instruction and a pious example at home. That there was nothing remarkable in it may be inferred from the fact that no tradition of it exists among his posterity.
In 1754, when John Frelinghuysen died so suddenly at Raritan, in the very springtide of his influence and usefulness, we find young Hardenbergh (together with Rynear Van Nest and Matthew Leydt) a student of theology, residing in the family. He seems to have remained there at least several months after this time, if the aneedote referring to the marriage with the widow be correct. This marriage took place within a year of the death of her husband, under circum - stanees somewhat peeuliar.
Mrs. Frelinghuysen (Dinah Van Bergh) was a native of Amster- dam, in Holland, and was married to John Frelinghuysen, it is said, in opposition to the wish of her father, and she accompanied her hus- band on his return to his native country, after completing his theo- logieal course, and receiving license from the classis of Amsterdam. His father, the Rev. T. J. Frelinghuysen, had died during his ab- ' senee, and he returned, by invitation, to take charge of the congrega-
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tions which had thus become vacant. Her early bereavement, after living with her husband-for whom she had left all-only about three years, far from her friends, and in a strange land, made her situation trying in the extreme. After a few months, she determined to retnin, like Naomi, to her native land, and claim again the shelter and protection of the paternal roof for herself and her two children. The preparations were all made, and the day appointed to leave Raritan for the purpose of embarking at New-York, when young Hardenbergh surprised her by an offer of marriage. He had con- templated it for some time, and had consulted with some of the offi- cers of the church in regard to its propriety ; but, on account of the yet so recent death of her husband, only brought himself to the point of making an avowal of his feelings when it could be no longer post- poned. She is said to have received it with an exclamation of sur- prise : " My child, what are you thinking about ?" The result, how- ever, was that the arrangements to remove were countermanded, and the voyage to Holland abandoned. They were married soon after, and she went to reside with his father at Rosendale, until he had finished his theological course and received license to preach the Gospel.
He was ordained by the Coetus in 1757, and was the first minister in the Dutch Church in America who had not been obliged to go to Holland for the purpose of study, examination, and licensure. His ministry at Raritan commenced, on the 1st of May, 1758, where he occupied the ample mansion which John Frelinghuysen had just finished at the time of his decease, and which he intended for a theo- logical institution. Thus a few years brought the widow back again to the scene of her first domestic enjoyments and trials, and placed 'her in the circle of her first and best friends. In August of the same year he was regularly installed as the pastor of the five united congregations of Raritan, North-Branch, Bedminster, Millstone, and New-Shannack. Here he labored diligently and acceptably in this immense field until October, 1761, when Millstone and New-Shan- nack separated, and called the Rev. John M. Van Harlingen as their pastor, and Hardenbergh continued to preach to the other three.
In the mean time, during the years 1762 and 1763, or part of each, he had made a voyage to Holland for the purpose of bringing over the mother of his wife, who, having become a widow, preferred to migrate to America, that she might enjoy the society of her daugh- ter, rather than remain in her loneliness in her native land. That he should do so, is said to have been one of the stipulations of the
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marriage contraet. He was the first American minister who ap- peared in Holland after the flames of the celebrated contest of Coe- tus and Conferentie had been enkindled. He returned in safety, having accomplished the design of his voyage, and gave the shelter of his home ever after to his mother-in-law, who finally died at his house at Raritan, where her remains repose.
Soon the memorable contest for independence commenced, and during two winters the army of Washington was encamped within the bounds of his pastoral charge. On the 26th of October, 1779, a company of the Queen's Rangers, under the command of Lieutenant- Colonel Simcoe, made an incursion into Somerset County for the pur- pose of burning some boats which had been transported from the Delaware, and were; lying in the water of the Raritan, near Van Vechten's bridge, a few yards above the church; and, not satisfied with accomplishing successfully their object, also set fire to and burned the church edifice to the ground. In the account which Colonel Simcoe has given of this outrage he excuses the act, by say- ing that the church had been made a depot of forage, and that a riffe-shot was fired at the soldiers from the opposite side of the river. The forage consisted of some ropes and tackle-used in bringing the boats from the Delaware-left outside of the church, and the shot . was from a young man who had been out shooting pigeons, and when he saw the dragoons engaged in setting fire to the boats, from a dis- tance of some two hundred yards, discharged his shot-gun to alarm them, and then ran off to escape pursuit. These facts we have learned from an eye-witness, and they admit of no question. They leave the barbarity of the action without excuse, to call down upon it the indignation of all right-thinking men. From Raritan the Rangers proceeded to Millstone, where they also burnt the court-house of Somerset County ; but in the neighborhood of New-Brunswick they were met by some militia, hastily drawn from that city, who shot the horse of Colonel Simcoe, and made the colonel himself a prisoner, his men escaping, by the fleetness of their horses, to South River, where an ambuseade had been prepared to protect them by a column of the British army under General Armstrong. This expedition is spoken of by military men as one of the handsomest exploits of the war. It was so, indeed ; pity that it should have been stained by such a wanton aet of barbarity as the burning of a house dedicated to the worship of almighty God, when, according to all the testi- mony of all the parties, there was not a human being near it whom, as an enemy, it could have sheltered, and so provoked an attack.
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The effect was most disastrous to the cause of religion in this com- munity, for, amid the pressure of the war, and the general derange- ments of all civil affairs, it was several years before the people were in a condition to provide themselves with another house of worship. Indeed, it was not effected until after Mr. Hardenbergh had closed his labors at Raritan.
The ministry of Mr. Hardenbergh at Raritan, embracing a period of twenty-five years, furnished abundant and incontestable evidence of his energy, his evangelical spirit, his uncompromising opposition to every form of evil, and his ardent love for the souls of men and the glory of God. The church, however, although it gradually in- creased in numbers and strength, does not appear at any time to have enjoyed any special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. How could it ? Such a state of things was not to be expected. The ministry of Mr. Hardenbergh embraced the period of the Revolution-more un- favorable to spiritual religion than any other period since the first settlements of the country. This great convulsion in the political world shook the very foundations of society to their centre, gave a loose rein to every immoral influence, and brought in a flood of wickedness, impiety, and intemperance into the land. The records of the church show in many places how impetuonsly it rolled on, and how nobly the godly man struggled against it. More than one solemn protest is recorded there against the increasing dissolnteness of manners resulting from the war. It was strange enough, circum- stanced as he was, in the very scene of action, armies marching fre- quently, and sometimes encamping for months in the very heart of his charge, that he was not entirely displaced and driven away-as so many of his brethren were in other places even less exposed-and that in such a state of things he should be able, by his prudence, to escape unscathed amid the fire. He was a devoted friend to the popular canse, and took no pains to conceal his opinions. Says one of his descendants : " I have heard my grandmother say, that during that dark period, when the American army had retreated before their enemies, and lay encamped in the county of Somerset, General Washington was a frequent visitor at their house, and, when in the neighborhood, made it his headquarters; that the old gentleman was an ardent patriot, who took occasion frequently to stir up the people from the pulpit; that the British general offered a reward of one hun- dred pounds for his apprehension ; that he always slept with a loaded musket in his room, and was often obliged to leave his home with arms in his hands, and roam about the country, to prevent being
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scized by the Tories. The old lady has told me that, out of six or seven individuals who undertook his arrest, and offered to produce him to the British general, every one had died within a few weeks of each other-several of them by the small-pox.
But, besides all this, there was also a revolution in the church in progress at the same time, the effect of which must have been, to some extent, detrimental to the growth of practical piety. This contest is known, in the history of the Reformed Dutch Church, as the dispute between the Coctus and Conferentie, and its bitter fruits continued until near the close of the ministry of Mr. Hardenbergh. In such a state of things revivals of religion were out of the question, and it is sufficient praise for Mr. Hardenbergh to be able to record his stead- fast, unwearied, and onward course, increasing daily in the affections of the people and in his power to do them good. Could any thing more have been reasonably anticipated ?
In 1770, application was made to the governor of New-Jersey for a charter of incorporation for a college and theological institution, to be known as Queen's College. In effecting this object, Dr. Harden- bergh (for he had now just received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Princeton College) was chiefly instrumental. He was, at that time, one of the most prominent and influential individuals named in the grant and petition. To the presidency of this institution he was unanimously elected by the trustees in 1786. During the interven- ing period, from the time of the granting of the charter, a professor and tutor had been employed to teach the students that might at- tend. But, for part of the time, New-Brunswick was occupied by the British army, and I have seen an advertisement giving notice that the exercises of the college would be continued at a private house at the head of Raritan, during one of these years.
In 1781, Dr. Hardenbergh resigned his pastoral charge at Raritan, and removed to Rosendale, and, while there, continued to serve the church-known at present as Rochester-until, in consequence of being chosen to the presidency of Queen's College, he removed to New-Brunswick. The fact of his election to such a responsible place is sufficient evidence of the estimation in which he was held in the church, when it is recollected that there were such men as Laid- lee, Westerlo, Meyer, and Romeyn to compete with. , Considering the deficiency in his early training, (to which reference has been . made,) it must have required no small share of industry, perseve- rance, and mental power to win such a reputation and fit himself for such a place, all the duties of which he performed, with perhaps
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a single assistant; so that he was, in fact, a teacher of the whole cir- cle of the sciences and liberal arts ! During the time of his presi- dency he also served the church at New-Brunswick as pastor. The labor of filling the two places must have been immense, and it is said to have been connected with the loss of his health and his speedy dissolution. He was spared only four years to devote him- self to the interests of learning in an institution which he had, as it were, created by his personal influence and exertions.
But any notice of Dr. Hardenbergh which should attempt to ac- count for his usefulness and his success would be incomplete, if it failed to recognize the fact that a large share of it was attributable to the influence of his wife, Dinah Van Bergh. She was the daugh- ter of Louis Van Bergh, a merchant of Amsterdam, who had accu- mulated a large fortune in the East-India trade. She was born (says one of hier descendants) In a house on the Prince Graaft-an engraving of which she brought with her and often showed-on the 10th of February, 1725. Her father was a man of fashion and of pleasure, devoting much of his time to the amusements of the day, and with- out any special regard to religion. He had but two children, both daughters, one of whom died in carly life. The survivor he intended to educate and introduce into all the gayeties and fashion of the luxurious metropolis, and her education certainly was superior. Her mind was stored with all the solid parts of learning, and her taste cultivated in an eminent degree. But Providence designed her to move in a different sphere, and thwarted all his schemes. Her religious impressions commenced as early as her fourteenth year, and soon created, on her part, a strong disrelish for all amusements and fashionable frivolity. On one occasion, she refused to attend the dancing-school to which her father wished her to go. This so en- raged him that he immediately ordered de carriage to be got np, and took her there himself. She, however, persisted in refusing to dance, and as soon as he left hid herself behind the seats. This is supposed to have occurred when she was only fourteen years of age. In her diary, however, she assigns the beginning of the year 1747, when she was in her twenty-first year, as the time when she decid- edly and forever gave herself unto the Lord, to his service, and to his people, to be his, and to live for him alone. It was in the middle of the night-after twelve o'clock-when she had been engaged in prayer, that she felt her heart drawn out to Christ. The promises came home with power, and she took him to be her Saviour and Re- deemer, and relied alone upon the merits of his blood to pardon all
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her sins and bring her to God. "Oh, how sweet," says she, " was the happiness which my soul then first knew, and how I longed to have all that which was old in me taken away, and to have more and more of that which was new wrought in me by the Holy Ghost ; and how I rejoiced in the fullness of the provisions of his gracious covenant !"
The manuscript journal from which I have quoted, and which now lies before me, consisting of sixty folio pages written in a small, lady-like, and beautiful hand, furnishes abundant evidence of her deep spiritual-mindedness and piety, as well as of her literary taste and culture. It abounds with passages breathing the most ardent Christian love, the deepest sense of dependence, the strongest faith in Jesus Christ as the only and all-sufficient Saviour, and the most earnest supplications for grace and strength.
She adverts to the enjoyment which she found in a little praying circle of young females of her own age, and records many of the sub- jects which they were accustomed to make a matter of special inter- cession-the church, the interests of religion in her native land and in the world, their country in war with France, Scotland, the English Church in Amsterdam, the Stadtholder and Prince of Orange, the Princess in her hour of peril. She records many special answers to prayer, which she received, one of which I will relate in an abbreviat- ed form. She was in the constant habit of making every thing which concerned her a matter of intercourse with the Throne of Grace -- even her visits among her friends. On one occasion, she received an invitation to spend some time with a Christian friend, in the city of Rotterdam. She felt at first indisposed to accept, but afterward thought that, in answer to prayer, she had received an invitation that would result in good. She went, but was soon prostrated with a se- vere illness, which brought her very low, and continued for several months. Her physician, whom she represents as an unbeliever in the doctrine of a special providence, told her at last that her case was hopeless, and intimated that she ought to abandon the idea of life, or of returning again to her friends, and prepare for death. But at night, when alone, she lifted up her heart to God, and thought she had an intimation that on a certain day-the 16th of September-she would leave her bed and become convalescent. She mentioned it to her in- timate friend, and confidently trusted in God to bring it to pass. The day came, and although previous to that morning she had been so weak as to be unable to help herself from her bed to the sick-chair, yet she arose, and with a little assistance walked several times across
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