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 25
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In 1801, the congregation became incorporate under the laws of . New-Jersey, and determined to change its name from Sourland, by which it had been known since 1750 or even earlier, to Harlingen, in memory of their deceased pastor. The next year, 1802, the . people in the southern part of the congregation at Blauwenburgh moved in the matter of providing themselves with a house of worship. The matter was brought before the Consistory of Har- lingen, who promised to refer it to the great consistory ; but no definite action seems to have been had, and for a time the matter appears to have been held in abeyance. The next year a motion was made to repair the church. On examination, it was pro- nounced not to be worth repairing, and a subscription was circu- lated to rebuild it; but there was a failure in obtaining the requi- site amount. In September the matter was resumed. The great consistory was at first convened, and then the heads of families, and finally a committee was appointed, consisting of James D.
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Stryker, Samuel Beekman, William Davis, Ezekiel Blew, Garret Quick, Henry Borcaw, William Duryea, John Baird, and Abra- ham Skillman, to advise with and aid the consistory in effecting the desirable object of giving the congregation a new church edi- fice. On the 4th of November, it was unanimously resolved to proceed early in the next season, and Abram Stryker, Samuel Beekman, Cornelius Kershow, and William Davis were appointed managers. The work was urged forward with such energy that the house was completed and nearly all the pews sold before the beginning of January, 1804. The cost of the building, including the fence, was 84,410.89. This was the third church in which the people of Harlingen had worshiped God ; and it stood, with some occasional repairs, until it was superseded by the present commo- dious structure.
After the Rev. Henry Polhemus resigned, in June, 1808, an. effort was made to obtain the services of the Rev. Peter D. Froe- ligh, a son of Dr. Solomon Froeligh, of Hackensack and Schalen- burgh; but when the same movement was made in Neshanic, it met with opposition, and was finally abandoned.
The name of the Rev. Peter Labagh, then pastor of the churches of Kaats Kill and Oakhill, was introduced to the atten- tion of the people, and a call was extended to him, which he accepted, and moved into the parsonage in July, 1809. He was installed soon after by the Rev. Peter Studdiford, of Readington. He served the two churches as Mr. Polhemus had done, preaching two Sabbaths at Harlingen and one at Neshanic, and alternating in this way with the other pastor, the Rev. W. R. Smith. In this laborious service he continued for twelve years until the death of Mr. Smith. Three years of this term he was, in effect, sole pastor of both churches, his colleague being incapacitated all that time for any kind of service. An effort was made to supply the place of Mr. Smith, and retain the arrangement between the two. churches as it had hitherto existed; but it was not successful. Harlingen voted to give a call to Rev. I. N. Wyckoff, and Nesha- nic preferred the candidate Isaac Ferris. The result was that the connection was dissolved, and Harlingen agreed to retain Mr :. Labagh's services, leaving Neshanic to provide for herself. The- dissolution of the combined arrangement was amicably effected and proved mutually beneficial. From 1821 until 1844, the good old man went on in his work, preaching most efficiently, attend-
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ing Bible classes in the different districts of his congregation, and fostering and encouraging his Sabbath-schools. Harlingen be- came a famous place for gathering the largest audiences in Som- erset County on the anniversaries of her Sunday-schools, and the meetings were spirited, addressed by popular and eminent men, and proved largely instrumental in diffusing throughout the whole county an interest in the Sabbath-school work. But old age had come upon him in his active life. He had entered upon his seventy- first year. His voice, never either full or fine-toned, had been im- paired by disease. He could not be well heard, especially by the aged. He began to feel that his work was done, and he laid down his armor gracefully and retired to the residence of his daughter, and there, in reading, fishing, and walking for exercise, went down to his grave in a dignified, devotional, and honorable way, and good men carried him to his burial. Late in life he had been honored by Mercer College (Pennsylvania) with a degree of D.D., but he hardly ever assumed the title in any very general way. He was best known and most extensively honored, in Somerset County especially, as Dominie Labagh, and there his name and influence will never be forgotten. His numerous spiritual children will honor him to the end.
Peter Labagh was born in Beaver street, in the city of New- York, November 10th, 1773. When the British army approached the city, his parents escaped to Hackensack, N. J., and made it a permanent residence. He commenced the study of Latin under William Kuypers, and continued it, under Alexander Miller, in the academy at Hackensack, afterward at Flatbush, under Dr. Wilson, and finally he completed his theological course with Dr. Froeligh and Dr. Livingston. His professional certificate was dated July 7th, 1796, and he was licensed by the Classis of Hack- ensack soon after this date. Almost immediately he went on a mission to the State of Kentucky, where many families from Ber- gen and Somerset Counties (New-Jersey) had settled. He orga- mized two churches at a place called Salt River, and returned at the end of the year. He was soon called to the churches of Kaats Kill and Oakhill, (New-York,) which he continued to serve until he came to Harlingen in 1821.
A biography of Dr. Labagh has been published, to which we refer those who desire special information. Instead, therefore, of following out the events of his life in detail, we prefer to give the
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estimate of the man and the minister and character which has been drawn of him by two of his most intimate friends. Dr. Ludlow says, " He was a man of much more than ordinary powers of mind. He was remarkably rapid in apprehension, sound in judgment, and correct and delicate in his taste. His faculties were well balanced, and he had a large measure of what is ordi- ' narily called common sense. Without any thing in appearance, manner, or voice to recommend him, he was, nevertheless, a very profitable preacher, especially when he prepared his discourses with some care. He was an earnest speaker, and had much of the practical and experimental in his discourses, while, at the same time, his doctrinal statements were sound and scriptural. . He was very much at home in deliberative ecclesiastical assem- blies, large and small, and exercised great influence in them. He was very much attached to his own denomination, while he felt a deep interest in the welfare of every part of the church of Jesus Christ. He was eminently social and genial in his disposition and habits, far beyond what his expression and manner would seem to indicate. He had a power of sarcasm and satire about him that was rather formidable, and a talent for retort and repartee which it was not easy to cope with. He was widely known in our church, and was greatly instrumental in promoting her interests. He had a large share in the confidence of his brethren in the ministry. He might have made much more of himself than he did, considering his natural powers and advan- tages; yet he was a very valuable and useful man, and his memory will always be cherished." To all this we can witness ourselves.
Dr. Bethune, who admired and loved him greatly, says, "Of Father Labagh's early, or even riper years, I know little, and that little only by hearsay ; the grateful, unanimous testimony of all who had the privilege of association with him, to his devotional spirit, fidelity, sagacity, and consistent virtues as a man, a Chris- tian, and a minister is abundant.
" I call him Father Labagh; for by that affectionate name all the members of our classis, much younger than he, were accus- tomed to greet and address him. He was our father, to whom we gladly yielded the place of superior authority ; whose council was at once sought, and very seldom, if ever, overborne in every ques- tion of disputed doctrine, method of business, or ecclesiastical
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policy. . His prayers, occasional exhortations, and informal talks had, for us, the unction and pleasant authority of the aged disciple among his little children. IIe resembled, in our minds, the apostle of love, not only in the kindness of his speech, but also in the searching casuistry which he had acquired from a long experience of a Christian and ministerial life. Never arrogant or severe, but ever direct and faithful; never assuming, but ever thankful for our ready deference, he could not avoid being conscious of the rank we assigned him in our fellowship; yet he ever treated the youngest and meekest of us with the respect and sympathy of true Christian friendship. It was this character that drew me to him with a love and veneration which increased with every oppor- tunity I had of enjoying his society. Perhaps this very manifest regard for him inclined him to think kindly of me; for he always treated me so as to make the hours I passed in his company very pleasant and profitable then, and the recollection of them will be cherished while my memory lasts. He had a keen sense of the ludi- crous, and often showed it in pointed epigrammatic sayings, and even in sarcasm, the sharpness of which was relieved by his good humor. He never shrank from the duty of rebuke, which none who received it had a right to be otherwise than thankful for. He read characters with instinctive skill, and was shrewd enough to avail himself of every advantage in an honorable strife; nor was he disingenuous enough to conceal his pleasure in a plain victory. The special grace of his disposition was its unfading yonthfulness. Whenever he grew old, it was not in his heart. The generosity which moved him to forget himself or his personal power in the advancement of the church was not lessened but increased by age. He was always on the side of true progress, never fearful of enterprise or enlargement ; but, on the contrary, ready, even eager, to give his aid and advocacy to whatever promised increase of usefulness. He grew neither dull nor morose, nor pragmatical, but was cheerful as morning, loving the sunshine rather than the shade, and sympathetic with the happiness of others, fully appre- ciating the wisdom of the inspired maxim, that "a merry heart doeth good like medicine." Frugal, temperate, and self-regulated, he was as free from asceticism as he was from world-worship. Young people never felt his presence an unwelcome restraint, and conversation was enlivened by his sprightly reminiscences and witty pleasantries."
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"" We have greater pleasure in giving these discriminating esti- mates of Dr. Labagh than we could have in adding any thing our- selves. In 1844, feeling the infirmities of age, he cheerfully gave place, as we have already said, to a snecessor, and rested from his labors. He had been the instrument during his ministry of bringing into the church more than 500 communicants, and he had besides introduced, from his own communion, eight young men into the Christian ministry, namely, Brogun Huff, Cornelius Van Cleef, J. T. B. Beekman, J. P. Labagh, (his only son,) P. S. Williamson, J. P. Stryker, missionary to India, N. D. William- son, C. S. Hageman, besides David Cushing, whom he induced to study, and aided materially in his course. Of the original mem- bers of his church, numbering about sixty, only four remained when he resigned. The dissolution was acted on in classis on the 10th November, 1844, when he had completed his seventy-second year, upon which occasion he preached his last sermon from Revelation 22 : 21, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." His closing years were quiet. He was respected and frequently visited by his brethren in the ministry, and he died in a good old age-" an old man and full of years." IIe deceased on Monday, October 25th, 1858, aged 84 years 11 months and 15 days. His funeral was attended on the 27th at the house of his son-in-law, Lawrence Vanderveer, Esq., where Rev. Dr. Van Vran- ken, of New-Brunswick Theological Seminary, offered prayer, and then at the Harlingen Church, where Rev. Dr. G. Ludlow preach- ed a sermon-published afterward as an appendix to his memoir by Rev. J. A. Todd. It was a bright and beautiful autumnal day, and the withered leaves, falling thickly in the forests, seemed to say to the gathered throng in solemn accents, " We all do fade as the leaf."
The remains of Dr. Labagh were, in the first instance, deposited in the old Harlingen Cemetery, but were subsequently removed to Rock Hill, in the certain hope of a joyful resurrection to im- mortal life. Upon his tomb we read the following inscription : " In memory of Rev. Peter Labagh, D.D., born Nov. 10th, 1773, died Oct. 25th, 1858. The faithful pastor who here sleeps in Jesus was ordained to the ministry in 1796, missionary to Ken- tucky in 1797, called to the pastoral office of the Reformed Church of Catskill in 1798, of Harlingen in 1809, of which he continued pastor for 35 years. As a preacher he was solemn, earnest, per-
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suasive, and always instructive; as "a" pastor, attentive to his flock in sickness and in health ; as a member of the different church courts, wise in council, strong in debate; and in all the relations of life, husband, father, friend, devoted and sincere. The memory of the just is blessed."
On the 21st of August, 1844, preceding Dr. Labagh's last ser- mon, the consistory had resolved to call as his successor John Gardener, a licentiate from the seminary. This eall was ap- proved on the 15th of October, and on the 14th November he was ordained and installed pastor of the church, Rev. G. Ludlow again preaching the sermon, from 2 Timothy 4 : 5. He still remains the minister of the church.
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TIIE CHURCH OF NESHANIC.
THE records of the church commence on the 25th of August, 1752, and recite that the consistory of North-Branch, on account of the necessity of establishing the Christian ordinances and hav- ing the Gospel preached, had consented to dismiss Bernardus Verbryck and his wife, Abraham Dubois, Sen., Abraham Dubois, Jr., Albert Low and his wife, William Low, John Dumont and his wife, John Montfort and his wife, in all eleven persons, for the purpose of forming a new congregation, and continues to give notice that Bernardus Verbryck and Abraham Dubois were chosen for elders, and Johannes De Mott and William Low dea- cons in said church and congregation of Neshanic. This record is in the handwriting of Dominie Johannes Frelinghuysen, of Raritan, and gives us the date of the organization of the Nesha- nic church, and the names of the first consistory.
On a preceding page, but without date, referring evidently to the same matters, are certain articles of agreement between per- sons formerly belonging to the church of North-Branch, with certain others from other congregations, agreeing or covenanting to call a neighboring minister belonging to the " Coetus," and maintaining the doctrines of the Articles of the Synod of Dort, 1618 and 1619, and to provide a proportionate maintenance for
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him, according to the service which he may render; to unite, for this purpose, with the congregations of Raritan, North-Branch, and Millstone; to commence the building of a church for said new congregation between the residence of David Genoe and " the Lawrence Line," the site to be determined by a majority of voices of those who have subscribed toward its erection, with other minor considerations, all showing how deliberately they entered upon the work of establishing a new church. This cove- nant is subscribed by Bernardus Verbryck, Abraham Dubois, Sen., Abraham Dubois, Jr., John De Mott, Laurence De Mott, William Post, John Dorlant, Cornelius Van Arsdalen, Jacobus Nevius, Pieter Van Dyke, Pieter Montfort, Jan Mont- fort, Lucus Nevius, Derick Low, Albert Stothoff, Adrian Hage- man, Joichim Gulick, Jacobus Gulick, and John Brower, men of substance and character, and enough to warrant the undertaking.
To this list there is appended a subscription of nearly £100, for the purpose of carrying out the agreement recited above. Then, on the Ilth of October succeeding, it is recorded that the site for the church was determined by a majority of voices to be on the Amwell Road, between the residences of Lawrence and John De Mott, on the Knoll, on the north side of said road. This appears to be all that was accomplished during the lifetime of John Fre- linghuysen. The inference is that the work undertaken with so much deliberation was carried forward to a successful conclusion during the winter and the summer of 1753 and 1754. Mr. Fre- linghuysen died on the 15th of September, 1754, and probably never preached in the church.
The next record is dated May 21st, 1757, and refers to the election of a consistory under the direction of Rev. John Leydt, of New-Brunswick, at the house of Andreas Ten Eyck. John De Mott was chosen elder, and John Montfort deacon ; and then it recites that they were ordained on the 13th January succeeding, in the church at North-Branch, by Dominie Romeyn. This was Thomas Romeyn, who had married Margaretta Frelinghuysen, the elder danghter of Theodorus J. Frelinghuysen.
The register of baptisms commences May 23d, 1760, with the names of Jan and Sarah Wycoff presenting a daughter, Neeltjie, and Jacobus and Elizabeth Hegeman,. a son, Pieter, and Daniel and Catleyntie Hunt, a daughter, Catlyntie-all on the same day. This register is complete, and has been continned until the
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present. time. We gather from its earlier years some names which it may be of interest to preserve, as belonging to the congregation in its beginnings, such as John Huff, George Ber- gen, More Beyaert, John Cox, Bernardus Van Zant, Thomas Hall, Peter Petersen, ITendriek Dilts, Dominicus Stryker, John Van Nest, Abraham Voorhees, Teunis Cornell, Hendrick Jansen, Ileugh Higse, Dominicus Van Dyke, Joris Broca, and Hendrick Pippenger. The list, as contained in the first book, ends January 24th, 1794, with the baptism of Sarah, daughter of Ruleph Peter- son. These were some of the first supporters of the Neshanic church.
On the 28th of August, 1758, under the superintendence of Rev. John Leydt, Rem Vanderbeek was appointed elder, and Lawrence De Mott, deacon; and again July 29th, 1759, the Rev. J. R. Hardenbergh presiding, Bernardns Verbryck was ordained as elder, in the room of Johannes De Mott, whose term of service had expired. This last record indicates the time when Neshanic had united with the other congregations in Somerset County, in calling the Rev. Jacob Rutsen Hendenbergh as their pastor. They had all been vacant since John Frelinghuysen's death, in 1754. Their attention had been directed to him, probably, from the fact that he had married Mr. Frelinghuysen's widow. It was a time of great distraction in all the Dutch churches, but perhaps especially in those in Somerset County. Fryenmoet, one of " the Conferentie preachers," had been preaching to those who were disaffected toward the Frelinghuysens, and at North-Branch especially a strong effort had been made to effect his settlement. He had spent some months there preaching and baptizing chil- dren, and endeavoring to gain the confidence of the people, but had not succeeded. Hardenbergh had been licensed in May, and was now already living in the house in Somerville, which had been built with the bricks sent over from Holland, in the same ship which brought out John Frelinghuysen and his wife, Dinah Van Bergh. Neshanie was organized as a Coetus church, and did not sympathize with the malcontents, as many families in the other churches had done.
This connection continued to exist until 1761, when Harden- bergh went to Holland for the purpose of bringing over his wife's mother. It is not ascertained exactly how long he was absent, but probably during nearly the whole of the year 1762. It was
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during this, the year of his absence, that Neshanic withdrew from its connection with the other four churches, and formed a union with Harlingen, or Sourland as then called, to obtain the services of Rev. Johannes Martinus Van Ilarlingen. This proved to be a lasting connection, and continued until it was dissolved, in 1795, by Mr. Van Harlingen's death. In 1780, in order to obtain more preaching, however, Neshanic united with Millstone in obtaining a part of the services of Solomon Froeligh, and this connection continued for six years, until 1786. Then, feeling the necessity of having preaching in the English language, for the benefit of the junior members of the congregation, she ealled, in conjunction with Harlingen, the Rev. William R. Smith. He was to preach two Sabbaths at Neshanic, and one at Harlingen. He was thus more entirely identified with the people of Neshanie than of Harlingen. He also made his residence in the bounds of the congregation, living on a parsonage farm, less than two miles east of the church. The impression of his character and preaching was left very permanently on the people of Neshanie, and his grave is with them, as a perpetual reminder of what he was and what he did to win them to the ways of righteousness and peace. His long ministry, continuing in its activity until 1817, and ending only with his death in 1820, was a great blessing to the people in every sense. It was an earnest and a faithful ministry ; and was blessed by an increase of the church, and an elevation of the standard of piety among the whole community. He did a blessed, an extensive, and a lasting work at Neshanic.
Rev. William Richmond Smith was born at Pequea, Laneaster County, Pa., in 1752. He was a younger son of the Rev. Robert Smith, D.D., of Pequea, and his mother was a sister of the eele- brated Samuel Blair, of New-Londonderry, Pa., the father of Dr. John Blair, both ministers of wide influence and usefulness in the Presbyterian Church. He had also two distinguished brothers, Samuel Stanhope Smith, the successor of Dr. Witherspoon in the presidency of Prineeton College, and John Blair Smith, the first president of Union College, Schenectady, and subsequently of Hampden Sydney College, in Virginia. Though not, perhaps, equal in mental endowments or in pulpit talents to his celebrated brothers, he was a man of sound mind, of a deep and ardent piety, and a truly edifying preacher. Hence he became a man highly esteemed and revered by the people to whom he ministered
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through the long period of five and twenty years, a conscientious, gentlemanly man, " endeared and loved." He was stricken with paralysis while preaching to his people. He survived the attack for several years, but was a wreck in mind and body during the remainder of his life. His remains are interred in the cemetery near Flagtown, and he " being dead yet speaketh." His funeral, on the 26th of February, 1820, was attended by a vast concourse of people from the surrounding country, anxious to testify their esteem and veneration for so faithful a pastor and friend. Rev. P. Labagh, his colleague of Harlingen, preached the sermon from 2 Tim. 4 : 7, 8, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of glory, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me in that day." On the tablet which stands at the head of his grave you read, "Sacred to the memory of William Smith, for twenty-five years one of the ministers of the united congregations of Shannock and Harlingen. He died February 23d, 1820, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. The memory of the just is blessed." Beside him rests his wife, and on her tablet we read, " In memory of Rachael Stidman, relict of Rev. William R. Smith ; born July 8th, 1770; died December 8th, 1840." She survived her husband nearly twenty years, and was finally united with him in his rest.
Neshanic had now been united with other churches in the sup- port of a minister for the space of sixty-eight years. Her growth as a congregation had not been rapid, but it had been substan- tial. IIer people had increased in numbers and in wealth. It was time for her to enjoy the benefit of the labors of a pastor for herself, and she determined to make the effort. A call was given to the candidate Gabriel Ludlow, recently from the seminary in New-Brunswick, and was accepted. He entered upon his labors on the 5th September, 1821. Fifty years from that date, Septem- ber 5th, 1871, he preached an anniversary sermon commemorative of his long and patient labors among the people of his charge. It was attended by many of his brethren in the ministry, and a reception and collection were given at his house after the exer- cises in the church had closed ; a purse was donated to him con- taining nearly $1000, and many. kind things said by his ministe- 'rial brethren during the afternoon for his encouragement and comfort. He is yet in the harness, standing up and preaching
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