USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > New Brunswick > Historical discourse delivered at the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Reformed Dutch Church, New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 1867 > Part 3
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nances. As late as the year 1729, a party existed of sufficient strength to make an attempt to bring over from Holland a pastor more after their own mind. A paper* was accordingly circulated with an idea of gathering together all the malcontentst in the old church at Three Mile Run, which is represented to be in a somewhat dilapidated condition, and, if the enter- prise succeeded, they were to repair the old edifice or build a new one in the vicinity of John Pittenger. But the plan failed, and the scheme was abandoned. The church at New-Brunswick did not join in this contro- versy with their pastor, but, so far as documentary and traditional evidence goes, zealously supported him, and the result was witnessed in the great prosperity which this church enjoyed.
Dominie Frelinghuysen met all this opposition in the spirit of a true gospel minister. He continued at his post, preaching, visiting, and catechising, laboring for the conversion of souls and the edification of the church. "I had rather die a thousand deaths," he says in one of his sermons, "than not preach the Gospel." And his ministry was eminently successful. Sound in his doctrinal views, searching in his reproofs, and fervent
* The subscribers were : A. Booram, Simon Wyckoff, Dennis Van Duyn, Leonard Smock, Cor. Peterson, George Anderson, William Van Duyn, Jac. Boise, Hen. Smock, Chris. Probasco, William Kouenhoven, Jac. Ben- net, Pet. Bodine, Gid. Marlat, William Bennet, Paul Le Boyton, Francis Harrison, Ab. Bennet, Isaac La Queer, Jac. Bennet, Nic. Dailey, Ad. Hardenbrook, Luke Covert, and Jac. Probasco. The committee to procure a minister was Hendrik Vroom and Frederick Van Liew. This subscrip - tion paper, as also that of 1703, were found at Mr. Abraham J. Voorhees, at Three Mile Run, and are now in the possession of Hon. Ralph Voorhees ; they had been preserved in the Van Liew family, and are all that we have of the old church.
+ Rev. Vicentius Antonides, from Long Island, encouraged the disaf- fected party, and as late as May 9th, 1734, he ordained a Consistory for the Three Mile Run church, composed of Simon Wyckoff and Hendrick Vroom, elders ; Simon Van Wicklen and Dennis Van Duyn, deacons ; also for North-Branch, Daniel Sebring and Peter Kinney, elders ; and William Rosse and Francis Waldron, deacons .- Records Harlingen Consistory.
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in his appeals, he won 'many souls to Christ, and laid foundations which have not yet passed away. Through- out his whole field of labor, he enjoyed as the fruit of his ministry several revivals of religion. At Raritan, he was eminently successful in the ingathering of the people and the establishment of the church. Our own records are incomplete, but the evidence of our history is, that he was instrumental in gathering together a large congregation.
About six years after Mr. Frelinghuysen's settlement in New-Brunswick, namely, in 1726, Rev. Gilbert Ten- nent arrived in this place, and was installed the first pas- tor of the Presbyterian church. He remained in this city about seventeen years, and was regarded as a man of very eminent abilities, especially distinguished for his pulpit talents. The first church edifice of this denomi- nation was erected in 1727, and stood on the same street with the Dutch church below Lyle's brook, on the ground now occupied by houses No. 142 and 144 Burnet street. Mr. Tennent's residence was at No. 168 of the same street, since taken down, in which his brother William had the remarkable trance, on his recovery from which it was found that he had lost all recollection of previous events, and even had forgotten the name of the Bible.
These two New-Brunswick pastors lived on terms of great friendship, and indeed of intimacy. They found in each other congenial dispositions ; and, judging from their published discourses, they were men of similar characteristics. They were both earnest and forcible in delivery, and pungent in their application of the truth. In a letter of Mr. Tennent to Rev. Mr. Prince, a histo- rian of Boston, in 1744, one year after he had left this city, he gives this testimony : "The labors of Rev. Mr. 3
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Frelinghuysen, a Dutch Calvinist minister, were much blessed to the people of New-Brunswick and places adjacent, especially about the time of his coming among them, which was about twenty-four years ago. When I came there, which was about seven years after, I had the pleasure of seeing much of the fruits of his minis- try; divers of his hearers with whom I had the oppor- tunity of conversing appeared to be converted persons, by their soundness in principle, Christian experience, and pious practice ; and these persons declared that the ministrations of the aforesaid gentleman were the means thereof. This, together with a kind letter which he sent me, respecting the dividing the word aright, and giving to every man his portion in due season, through the divine blessing excited me to greater earnestness in ministerial labors."
The eminent evangelist, George Whitefield, paid fre- quent visits to this city, and preached to large congre- gations gathered from this whole section of country. He frequently speaks of New-Brunswick, in his journal, and of the pleasure he enjoyed in the society of Mr. Frelinghuysen. He is very earnest in his praise, and represents him as a sound, fearless, and highly success- ful minister. Mr. Whitefield, under date of November 20th, 1739, writes in his journal: “Preached about noon, for near two hours, in Mr. Tennent's meeting- house, to a large assembly gathered from all parts." On the 26th of April, 1740, he again passed through New- Brunswick, reaching the town about four in the after- noon, " and preached to about two thousand," he writes, " in the evening." "The next day," he adds, "preached morning and evening to near seven or eight thousand people; and God's power was so much amongst us in the afternoon service, that, had I proceeded, the cries
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and groans of the people, I believe, would have drowned my voice." It was upon this occasion, according to the statement of Rev. Dr. Cannon, received from persons who were present, that Mr. Whitefield preached in front of the Dutch church in Burnet street, standing on a wagon, and the immense audience were spread over a meadow sloping down to the river, listening to the sermon.
Dominie Frelinghuysen was a member of the conven- tion which met in the city of New-York in April, 1738, with the elder from this church, Hendrick Fisher, who formed a plan to establish an ecclesiastical judicatory, with more enlarged powers than had been enjoyed by the Reformed Dutch Church in this country, out of which grew the great conflict in reference to the sepa- ration from the Classis of Amsterdam. Although he did not live to take a very active part in this contro- versy, yet, as he was one of the originators of the move- ment, and as it continued to agitate the church for about thirty years, even threatening its very existence, a brief sketch of the two principles in conflict will here be necessary as a link in the chain of history.
Our church, in this country, was not an independent organization, but merely a branch of the Reformed Church of Holland, and subject to its jurisdiction. Cases of discipline had to be referred for decision to the old country. Candidates who desired to preach the Gospel were obliged to cross the ocean in order to- obtain ordination; and only such ministers as had been examined and commissioned by the Classis of Amster- dam were permitted to preach in our pulpits. The result was long and vexatious delays in procuring pas- tors, great inconvenience in obtaining the decision of the supreme judicatory, and an outlay of time and ex-
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pense which greatly retarded the growth of our church. In this year (1738) a plan was matured to form a " Coetus," or an assembly of ministers and elders, who should exercise jurisdiction over the churches in this country, subject to the supervision of the Synod of North-Holland.
This was the entering-wedge of separation, and in a short time grew into a demand for an independent Classis, with all the powers. belonging to the highest ecclesiastical court. But this innovation was most strenuously resisted. The church in Europe opposed the measure as subversive of authority, and some of the older ministers, with their elders, formed an assembly
opposed to the Coetus, to which they gave the name of " Conferentie." This was the commencement of a strife which has hardly been surpassed in the history of eccle- siastical disputes, and was not finally adjusted until Dr. John H. Livingston matured a plan of union in 1772, which met the cordial approbation of all who sought the peace of Zion.
Mr. Frelinghuysen exerted a great influence in con- nection with this most important measure. Indeed, he was a thorough representative of the Coetus party, while the early controversies through which he had passed prepared him to be a leader on the side of re- form. He was evangelical in his sentiments and pro- gressive in his spirit, and he saw that the interests of the church demanded an independent organization, with all the facilities of school, college, and seminary to pro- vide a well-educated ministry. Although he did not live to see this result, yet he is justly honored as one of the originators of a system which at first greatly agitated but finally prevailed to the establishment and enlargement of the church. There were a few in this
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congregation who sympathized with the Conferentie party, but they never attained any considerable strength, though in other parts of the old charge of Mr. Frelinghuysen the strife was carried on with a violence which it is almost impossible for us to understand .*
The Dutch population in the town of New-Bruns- wick received quite an accession between the years 1730 and 1734, by the emigration of several families from Albany, previously referred to in our narrative. Their ancestors had removed to that place immediately from Holland, and their names are found on the regis- ter of church-members as early as 1683. They are uni- formly represented to have been an intelligent and pious class of people, who added very greatly to the strength of the church. Families also continued to arrive from Long Island, and settled on the farms along the Raritan, both above and below New-Brunswick, and on both sides of the river. From these causes and the increasing prosperity of the congregation, the comple- tion and enlargement of the church edifice was de- manded, and in 1735 we find that the object was ac- complished under the direction of a committee of which Dirck Schuyler was chairman. The amount expended in reseating the church was about £200.
* Harlingen especially seems to have been an important point in the Coetus and Conferentie difficulties. The original house of worship at the cemetery and the church records fell into the hands of the Conferentie. The Coetus party, therefore, who could not be limited and restrained by the formalities of the other, erected a new church in 1749 near the present site, and kept a distinct record of their own .. Both records have come down to the present time. On May 9th, 1734, Dominie Antonides met some Conferentie friends at the house of Ryner Veghte, and ordained a new Con- sistory, in opposition to Frelinghuysen's Consistory, namely, Koert Voorhees and Daniel Polhemus, elders. This new Consistory secured possession of the church-books, and hence Frelinghuysen was obliged to begin a new book of records in 1737. In this is noted the arrival of his son John in 1750, who preached his first sermon in that locality, August 19th of that year, in the house of Simon Van Arsdalen. His first sermon was preached in the church December 2d .- Rev. E. T. Corwin.
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At this date the pews were sold under an article of agreement to which the signatures of the heads of families are affixed. We have a plan of the building thus remodeled, a complete list of the families in the congregation,* and the original disposition of the pews.
Among the names I find recorded that of James Hude, + one of the prominent citizens of New-Brunswick, and held in very high esteem. His father was a Scotch Presbyterian, and fled from the religious oppressions of the Old World to enjoy the freedom promised in the New. Mr. Hude filled all the civil offices in the city, and spent most of his life in the service of the govern- ment. He was one of the judges of the pleas for eleven years, a member of assembly in 1738, one of the council of Governor Morris, and for several terms mayor of the city. He was a man of great benevo- lence, and on his death, November 1st, 1762, the New- York Mercury, in an obituary notice, speaks of him as a " gentleman of great probity, justice, affability, moral and political virtues." His residence was in Albany street, in the house known as the Bell tavern, the origi- nal part of which is one of the oldest buildings in the town. Though he does not seem to have been a com- municant in the church, yet I find his name on the list of families in the congregation, and his children were all baptized by Mr. Frelinghuysen, and appear on our register.
On the same list I find also the name of Philip French, who came into possession of Inians's patent, and was a man of great liberality and distinction. One of the streets of our city still bears his name.
* For a list of the heads of families at this date, see Appendix II.
t Whitehead's Amboy, p. 374. His daughter Catherine married Corne- lius Lowe, and a daughter of theirs married a son of Rev. Mr. Hardenbergh, the Hon. J. R. Hardenbergh.
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The name of Jacob Ouke is found on the catalogue, one of the original members of the congregation, a prominent elder in the church; at several times a mayor of the city, and holding an office which had been created by Mr. Frelinghuysen to meet the grow- ing demands of his large charge. In addition to these names, there were others who shone with equal emi- nence, the Schuylers, the Van Deursens, the Van Der- belts, the Van Voorhees, the Schencks, and the Van Harlingens. The list embraces the names of about one hundred heads of families, showing that at this date (1735) there was here a large congregation built up under the ministry of Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Perhaps no name is more prominent in our early records than that of the distinguished Elder Minne Van Voorhees, one of the ancestors of the large family of this name in this section of the State. He came to this vicinity from Long Island about the year 1715, and two years after, on the organization of this church, we find his name on our list of communicants. He re- sided at first on the property now known as the Col- lege farm, and was the proprietor of a large tract of land in that vicinity, including the mills below the city ; subsequently he removed to New-Brunswick, and resided here until his death, which must have occurred about the year 1734. He was a man of great promi- nence in the church, elected to the office of elder when quite a young man, and a ruling spirit in the congrega- tion. In the controversies which Mr. Frelinghuysen sustained in the early part of his ministry, he found in Minne Van Voorhees a staunch and intelligent sup- porter. From the fact of his cooperation with his pas- tor, the inference is natural that he was of a kindred spirit. Tradition reports him to have been very gifted
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in prayer and exhortation. His memory was so reten- tive that he was able to repeat nearly the entire ser- mon after hearing it preached. When Mr. Frelinghuy- sen was exhausted with his excessive labors, he would frequently call upon Minne to take the evening lecture in one of the neighborhoods, and he would conduct the services with great edification. His name was very precious in the church for several-generations, and he has left behind him even unto this day a savor of great piety. His descendants were connected with some of the most distinguished families of the city, the Pools, Neilsons, Abeels, Bennets, Schuylers, Van Deursens, and Hasserts."
In order to meet the growing wants of his extensive charge, Mr. Frelinghuysen resorted to various expedi- ents. The plan of a colleague was discussed at a joint meeting of the four Consistories, held at Raritan in 1737, and finally adopted. An address is sent to that Reverend Father in God Schuyhenburg and Jan Stock- ers to send over from Holland a young man, who should act as an assistant to the minister. The call is prepared by Mr. Frelinghuysen, and in his characteristic way he asks for a man of good health, who will be able to endure a large amount of labor, and a willing worker ; but above all, for one who shall be filled with the love of Christ and God's kingdom. He is to preach under
* The ancestor of the family of Voorhees in this section of country is Steven Coerte, or Koers, who emigrated from Holland in 1660, on the ship Bontekoe, (Spotted Cow,) and settled in Flatlands, Long Island. Having no surname, they subscribed themselves " Van Voorhees," or " from before Hees." Stephen Coerte married Willempie Roelefse, and died about 1684. His son, Lucas Stevense, married on Long Island, and six of his children emigrated to New-Brunswick and vicinity, and were members of this church at its organization. Hans (Jan) Lucas married Neeltije Nevius; Catryntje Lucas married Roelof Nevius; Roelof Lucas married Helena Stoothof; Minne Lucas married Antje Wyckoff; Wilmetje Lucas married Martin Ne- vius ; Albert Lucas married Catryntje Cornell .- See Genealogy of Bergen Family, p. 61.
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the direction of the senior pastor, catechise the children and youth, and perform pastoral visitation. He is promised a parsonage with fifty acres of land, a horse with necessary accompaniments, and £80 a year, one half of which shall be paid as soon as he shall be installed. This excellent arrangement did not succeed, the right kind of a man not being found ready to emi- grate to America.
On the failure of this effort to secure an assistant, Dominie Frelinghuysen resorted to the expedient of appointing "helpers," after the plan of the apostles. (1 Cor. 12: 28.) Men who were gifted in exhortation and prayer, and who had commended themselves by their godly lives to the people, were selected under the sanction of the Consistory, to hold neighborhood ser- vices, to visit the sick, to direct the inquiring, and to be generally useful in the congregation. Indeed, this
plan was matured previous to sending the call to Hol- land ; for we find in our minutes that, in 1736, a joint meeting of the four Consistories was convened for the purpose of consulting upon the subject, and that appointments were actually made of such extraordinary officers in the church. At this meeting the following selection was made: For North-Branch, Symon Van Arsdalen; for Raritan, Hendrick Bries and Teunis Post ; for Six Mile Run, Elbert Stoothof; and for New- Brunswick, Hendrick Fisher, Roelef Nevius, and Abra- ham Ouke. The tradition is, that these men were emi- nently useful; and while the measure was a novelty in the Dutch Church, and, so far as we have learned, was confined only to the pastoral charge of Mr. Frelinghuy- sen, yet it was eminently successful, and tended greatly to the prosperity of the church. These men held the
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office during life, and one of them, as we shall pre- sently see, became a lay preacher and catechist.
On examining the records of our church, I find that there was received into its membership, during Mr. Frelinghuysen's ministry, about sixty persons. Many names are undoubtedly omitted from the list, as some are not found on the catalogue who are known to have been in communion with the church. The largest number received in any one year was in 1741, when there was the addition of twenty-two persons, a most cheering evidence of the divine favor, and a great encouragement to that noble minister who had now triumphed over all opposition, and whose work was thus crowned with God's approbation. Although the whole number does not seem to be large, yet it is a fair representation of growth, considering the sparseness of the population, the agitations of the times, and the fact that he received into the communion only those who gave the clearest evidence of conversion.
Concerning the events that transpired during the latter part of Mr. Frelinghuysen's life, no record has been preserved, nor is the time of his death or the place of his burial definitely known. In the summer of 1744, he bought of Daniel Hendrickson, of this city, a farm of 200 acres, for which he paid £550. This property is located at Three Mile Run," and is a part of the land occupied by the late John Brunson. Here he built a spacious house, a part of the foundation of which was
* It is described as being bounded on the south-east by the land of Daniel Hendrickson, north-east by the "pretended line of the heirs or assigns of Peter Sonmans," north-west by David Sequire, south-west and north-west by Cornelius Bennet .- Trenton Deeds.
He lived at one time in Burnet street, as I find a reference to his "resi- dence" in an old deed in my possession, but the precise location I have not ascertained. He spent his whole ministerial life within the bounds of this congregation, and his family made this church their religious home.
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used in the construction of the edifice now standing. At this place he probably resided at the time of his death, which must have occurred about the commence- ment of the year 1748, when he had not yet reached his fifty-seventh year. He is buried, according to all the evidence we can gather, in the old yard of the Six Mile Run church, and a spot is still pointed out as his last resting-place." His monument should stand in the ground adjoining our church, and his name should be preserved among the greatest lights of our Zion. The character of his mind is sufficiently indicated by his published sermons ; his fidelity, by the fearlessness with which he preached the Gospel in its purity and pungency ; his success, by the ingatherings which he enjoyed, the foundations which he laid, and the seed which he planted; and his piety, by the savor which yet breathes from his memory.
When he came to this field, he found it spiritually destitute and uncultivated. A church had here grown up in this new settlement without a pastor, and, bearing in mind the type of the religion of that age, we are not surprised that there was so much of the formal element in the churches. When he was called away, he left behind him a strong body of Christians, who had been brought into the church under a searching Gospel, and who gave every evidence of real godliness. That he was blessed by God in his work is the unqualified
* The first house of worship of the Six Mile Run church was built in this yard, and remains of the foundation were visible until quite recently. The second building was erected before 1766, for in the survey of the county line, made at that date, it was called the "new church.". The tra- dition is, that Mr. Frelinghuysen's grave was under a tree near the centre of the ground. The aged remember that their parents pointed to the spot as the resting-place of a "great man." Is it not a striking fact that the minister who first broke ground for the Gospel in this new territory lies in an unknown grave? Let us cherish his memory, and show him honor by loving, as he did, the pure doctrine of the Gospel.
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testimony of our history ; and when such eminent men as Gilbert Tennent, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards speak of him as one of the great lights of the American church, we freely accord to him the distin- guished position which he occupies. To their testi- mony I may add that of Dr. A. Alexander, of Prince- ton, who says: "If you wish to find a community cha- racterized by an intelligent piety, a love of order, and all that tends to make society what it should be, seek it among the people of Somerset and Middlesex. And their present character," he adds, "is owing very much, under God, to the faithful preaching of the Gospel under old Dominie Frelinghuysen."
The name of his wife has been recently recovered, but no traditions are preserved in respect to her char- acter. But the piety of the household is clearly indi- cated by the character of her children. All of her sons entered the ministry, and her two daughters became the wives of pastors in our church. We attribute this fact mainly to the piety and religious instruction of the mother, Eva Terhune. They were baptized in this church, and their names appear upon our register. Theodore was settled in Albany, from 1745 to 1759. He is represented to have been frank and popular in his manners, earnest and eloquent in the pulpit, and blameless in his life. He sailed for Holland in the year 1759, with the expectation of returning to his field of labor. The date and circumstances of his death are not known." His memory was very precious in the church of Albany, meriting the tribute paid to him of " the apostolic and much beloved Frelinghuysen." His
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