USA > New Jersey > Burlington County > Burlington > History of Burlington and Mercer counties, New Jersey : with biographical sketches of many of their pioneers and prominent men > Part 66
USA > New Jersey > Mercer County > History of Burlington and Mercer counties, New Jersey : with biographical sketches of many of their pioneers and prominent men > Part 66
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"The old stone church buill in 1726, the first of the series, stood on The southwest corner of the church let, on the same rite as its successor,
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718
HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
the brick one, but not covering so large a space. It fronted south on Second Street (now State), standing a little back from the line of the street, and having a large flat stone before the door. Its front presented in the centre a large doorway, closed by two half-doors, on each side of which was a pretty large window, square-headed, as was the door ; and probably over the door another window, though on this point there is a difference of recollection. The stones of the building, free of wash or plaster, showed only their native line, or that acquired by long exposure to the weather. The roof, with gables to the street, was of the curb or double-pitched kind, and was covered with shingles, each neatly rounded or scalloped. Entering the front door, a middle aisle, floored with wood, led towards the pulpit, which was at the opposite or north end. The first object reached was a settle, occupied during service by the sexton ; raised one step from the floor was an inclosed space with desk in front, where stood the minister while administering the sacraments or hearing the catechism. Behind and above was the pulpit, of wood, unpainted, as was all the wood-work in the building. except the ceiling, having a souud-board over it, fastened against the rear wall. In this wall on
" While the old church was standing there was a tradition that there was a vault under the building, but it was not known where. When the house was taken down the vault was discovered, containing two coffins with plates, and other evidences that the. bodies were those of persons of standing and importance. In the brick church, in the floor within the railing before the pulpit, was a trap-door, which was said to lead to this vault. The vault was covered over when the present church was built, and is embraced iu one of the burial-lots in the space where the old house stood.
. .. "In the yard behind the church stood a fine apple-tree, nnich resorted to for its shade, its blossoms, and its fruit by the children from the school-house, which was on the eastern part of the same lot. This school was tanghit by Mir. Nicholas Dubois, who nuited in himself the offices of elder, teacher, and chorister, in which last capacity he had a place with his choir in the gallery."
The ministers who supplied the pulpit in this church during the first ten years after its erection
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TT
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
each side of the pulpit was a window corresponding to those in front. 1 The pulpit stairs rose from the pastor's pew, which was against the rear wall on the east side of the pulpit. A gallery ran round the front aud two sides, the stairs to which rose in the front corners. Be- tween the front door and these corner stairs were two square pews on each side, of unequal size, over the one of which, nearest the stairs, was one of the front windows. Before these pews was a cross aisle leading to the stairs and to the side aisles. These were narrower than the mid- dle one, and led to the north wall. All the pews against the walls were square, and, like all the others, had the nsnal high, straight backs of the time. Sitting in church was not theu the casy, cushioned affair of modern days. Two square pewsagainst the rear wall, fonr on each side, the fourth froin the front being in the corner, and the four on the front completed the number of fourteen. The rest of the floor was occupied by uarrow pews or slips opening into the middle and side aisles. The ceiling was wooden, curved in four ways ithe lines of junction rising from the corners), and painted in a sort of clouded style, blue and white, intended to represent the sky and clouds, if the childish impressions of one of my iuforinants have not thue mistaken the results of time and dampness.
were Revs. Joseph Morgan, --- Hubbard, and Wilson. Of these clergymen, and of the duration of their ministries, scarcely anything is known.
The first settled pastor was Rev. David Cowell, who was called in May, 1736. Mr. Cowell was then a li- centiate, aged thirty-two, and he had graduated at Harvard four years previously. He accepted the call, and was ordained on the 2d of the November follow- ing. He served this congregation and the old one during twenty-four years, or until his death in 1760. During this time his sphere of usefulness was not limited to his pastorate. He was an active and effi- cient member of Presbyteries and Synods, and was also closely identified with the establishment of the college at Princeton, of which he was at one time the
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CITY OF TRENTON.
719
temporary president. His entire energies were de- voted to the advancement of religion and education. He was always a celibate. His remains repose in the churchyard at Trenton, a few feet from the west- ern wall of the church. The spot is designated by a monument with an appropriate inscription, erected by the congregation.
It is a matter of record that in 1653 a lottery was instituted for the purpose of raising funds to erect a school-house on this church lot and establish there a parochial school. The managers, laying their scheme before the public, stated, " We flatter ourselves the public, considering our laudable design, our age, and our innocence, will give credit to this our public declaration."
Hall says, " The lottery of the innocents was drawn on the 2d of July, 1753, and the building was doubt- less erected immediately afterward, on the spot indi- cated." With all the Puritanical rigor of those times, people saw no wrong in that which in these degen- erate days is prohibited by law. The building was leased to the Trenton Academy, and enlarged in 1800, but was taken down when the present church was erected, in 1839.
On the 8th of September, 1756, during the pastorate of Mr. Cowell, a charter was granted to this church by George II., through Governor Belcher. The cor- porators were Rev. David Cowell, Charles Clark, An- drew Reed, Joseph Yard, Arthur Howell, William Green, Alexander Chambers, and their successors, under the name of "The trustees of the Presbyterian Church of Trenton."
After the relinquishment of the pastorate by Mr. Cowell, and before his death, the congregation asked that Rev. William Kirkpatrick might be sent as a supply, which was done, and in April, 1761, a regular call from the congregation was presented. Though this call was not formally accepted, he continued to supply the pulpit, and, without installation, to sustain to the congregation till 1766, when he accepted a call to the church at Amwell. He died in 1769.
During the period of supply of Mr. Kirkpatrick, in 1762, a parsonage was purchased by the church, "on the north side of Hanover Strect, which runs in the rear of the church," " to be and remain for a parson- age for the Presbyterian congregation of Trenton for- ever."
In 1769 an arrangement was made by the two congre- gations of Trenton and that of Maidenhead, whereby one pastor was to serve the three congregations, and under this arrangement Rev. Elihu Spencer was called to the work. He entered on his duties in Oc- tober of that year. At this time the town and country, or " old house," congregations of Trenton still pre- served their union, though each had its separate spiritual officers.
zealous patriot. The anthorities of the royal govern- ment at one time offered a reward of a hundred guineas for his head, and he was compelled to fly for life. During his absence the parsonage was nsed as a hospital by the Hessians. The communion plate of "the church was plundered, and the soldiers were guilty of the aets of vandalism which are usually perpetrated by troops in a hostile country. Mr. Spen- cer's pastorate terminated with his life, Dec. 27, 1784. His remains are entombed on the western side of the churchyard.
The sermon at the funeral of Mr. Spencer was preached by Rev. James Francis Armstrong, who frequently supplied the vacant pulpit afterwards. In October, 1785, he received a call from the church to become its pastor, which call was formally ae- cepted, and he became the regular pastor of the church in April, 1787, though he had previously been regarded as " the minister."
In 1786 a subscription of one hundred pounds was undertaken for the repair of the parsonage, and of this it was arranged that the country congregation should pay one-third, and also one-third of the pas- tor's salary of two hundred pounds, and receive one- third of the Sabbath services of the minister. The continuance of this arrangement was declined in 1787 by the "old house" congregation, and during a year thereafter negotiations were pending for the settle- ment of the question.
In 1781 the church had made an ineffectnal appli- cation for a charter to supersede that of George II. March. 16, 1786, the Legislature of New Jersey en- acted a general law for the incorporation of religions societies. May 4, 1788, the congregation met, and elected trustees nnder this act, "having previously agreed to admit and receive the inhabitants of Lam- berton, and those between that and Trenton, who may at any time join said congregation, as entitled to all the rights and privileges of their act of incor- poration."
In September, 1788, the trustees " from the coun- try" met the town board, and made a division of the property of the old congregation ; "and in April, 1790, the town church bought the third of the par- sonage of their late copartners for one hundred pounds."
In the same year an arrangement was made with the church at Maidenhead, whereby the latter was to receive half the Sunday services of Mr. Armstrong by the annual payment of one hundred pounds. This arrangement continued till 1806. At that time the church at Trenton considered itself able to as- sume an independent position, and Mr. Armstrong became the pastor of it alone.
From time to time during several years of the latter t part of the eighteenth century, measures were pro-
It is not known that Mr. Spencer was ever formally ; jected for raising funds with which to build a new installed. His brief pastorate embraced the period of : house of worship. These were lotteries, which were the Revolution, during which he was an ardent and i not then infrequent resources for churches. In May,
720
HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
1804, successful efforts were inaugurated. A sub- scription was headed by Abraham Hunt, Benjamin Smith, Alexander Chambers, and Moore Furman, each pledging two hundred dollars, and in the fol- lowing August nearly four thousand dollars had been subscribed. The old house was taken down, and on the 15th of April, 1805, the corner stone of the new building was laid. It was first occupied for worship Aug. 17, 1806.
"The building was of brick, and cost ten thousand eight hundred and twenty dollars. It had seventy- two pews on the floor, divided by two aisles, and thirty-six in the gallery. Forty-six were put at the annual rent of twelve dollars, eighteen larger ones at fourteen dollars. The gallery pews were free, and one side was reserved for colored persons."
Pending the erection of this house, Mr. Armstrong held services on alternate Sabbaths in the Episcopal Church, the rector of which had a second charge at Bristol. Mr. Armstrong was not only an efficient pastor, but was an active promoter of education and of all matters of publie interest. During several years subsequent to 1799 his health was so impaired from a rheumatic affection that he was compelled frequently to request supplies for his pulpits. Among those who officiated in these emergencies were Presi- dent Samuel Stanhope Smith, Dr. John Woodhull, Revs. George Spafford Woodhull, Robert Finley, Andrew Hunter, David Comfort, Samuel Snowden, Matthew L. Perrine, Josephi Rue, John Hanna, and others. After many years of great suffering, he died Jan. 9, 1816, in the thirty-first year of his pastorate here.
Rev. Dr. Samuel Blanchard How was installed as pastor of the Trenton Church Dec. 17, 1816, and ter- minated his useful pastorate in April, 1821. He was followed by William Jessup Armstrong, D.D., who entered on his pastoral duties Oct. 20, 1821, and left to accept a call from Richmond, Va., in 1824. He ! was distinguished for the fervor and earnestness of his preaching. He was succeeded, after an interval of about twenty months, by Rev. John Smith, who was ordained and installed on the 8th of March, 1826. He severed his useful pastoral relation with this church in August, 1828. His successor was Rev. James Waddel Alexander, whose pastorate commenced Jan. 10, 1829, and ended Oct. 31, 1832.
During nearly two years after the close of Mr. Alexander's pastorate the pulpit was supplied by transient clergymen, of whom Revs. Asahel Nettleton and Truman Osborn officiated frequently.
Rev. John William Yeomans was installed pastor on the 7th of October, 1834, and his pastorate ter- minated with his entrance on the presidency of La- fayette College, Easton, Pa., June 1, 1841. During his pastorate the present commodious church edifice was built, and its erection was due largely to his energy and influence, as well as to the enterprising spirit of the congregation. The corner-stone of this
structure was laid May 2, 1839, and the first services were held in it Jan. 19, 1840. It was built on the central part of the church lot. Its dimensions are one hundred and four by sixty-two feet, and it has a seating capacity of abont eight hundred.
It is stated by Raum,-
" In removing the old stone church in 1804 a vault was discovered containing two skeletons in a good state of preservation. This vault was supposed to have been built by Governor Crosby in 1732, and the bodies found there, it has been thought, were British officers belonging to the colonial government. Tradition says that one of these, an old lachelor, was, at his owu request, buried by candle-light to prevent females at- tending his funeral. This vault remained under the brick church un- known to the present generation till 1838, when, removing that church, it was again discovered, and the coffins, although having been there over a century, were in a tolerable state of preservation and the skeletons were perfect. I was the first one who explored that subterraneous abode of the dead. I found the lid of one of the coffins had been removed, and was placed in an upright position against the wall. Near it, on the floor of the vault (which was cemented), lay a metal plate which had evi- dently been upon one of the coffins, but was so eaten up with rust as to render it impossible to decipher the figures upon it ; but from what little I could see I am fully satisfied it was the coat of arms of some ancient English family."
The present pastor of this church, John Hall, D.D., was ordained and installed Aug. 11, 1841. It is not too much to say of Dr. Hall that in an active pastor- ate of more than forty years he has acquired and re- tained the respect and affection, not of his congrega- tion alone, but of all with whom he has been brought in relation.
REV. JOHN HALL, D.D., was born in Philadelphia on the 11th of August, 1806, graduated at the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania in 1823, and in December, 1827. was admitted to practice at the Philadelphia bar. In 1829 he made his first attempt at authorship in a translation, with notes, of Milton's Latin Letters, which was published by Littell. In 1832 he relin- quished the practice of law, with a view to devote his life to the ministry, and being elected a manager and afterwards secretary of the mission work of the American Sunday-School Union, his training for the ministry was chiefly in the course of active work in this service. He was editor of the Sunday-School Journal and the Youth's Friend, revised the first five volumes of the " Union Questions on the Bible," and prepared the seven subsequent volumes of the series ; he produced nine original works and compiled six others, which have now a place upon the catalogue of the Union. In 1839 he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and in May, 1841, he re- ceived a call to the First Church in Trenton, N. J., which he accepted, and entered upon his duties on the Sabbath immediately following that on which the pulpit was vacated by the late Dr. J. W. Yeomans, who preceded him. Dr. IIall was ordained and in- stalled by the Presbytery of New Brunswick on the 11th of August, 1841, and no inducement has been able to make him engage in labor in another field. When he entered upon his pastorate in Trenton the First had been the only Presbyterian Church for more than a century. Out of it have now been formed
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721
CITY OF TRENTON.
three other large congregations in the city, and a small one in the neighborhood, besides a mission- chapel.
In 1850 the degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by the College of New Jersey. In 1852-53 he deliv- ered a course of lectures in the Princeton Theological Seminary, filling a temporary vacaney in the chair of Pastoral Theology; and in 1853 the General Assem-
John Hall
bly elected him Professor of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Rhetoric in the Western Theological Seminary. at Allegheny City, but he did not accept the appoint- ment.
In addition to the works he prepared for the Amer- ican Sunday-School Union, nine volumes appear on the catalogue of the Presbyterian Board of Publica- tion, viz .: "The Chief End of Man," "The Only Rule," " Minor Characters of the Bible," "The Vir- gin Mary," "The Sower and the Seed," " Forgive us
and literary journals, besides contributions to news- papers, a habit dating back in boyhood. The most extraordinary of his works is the publication of the series of " Familiar Letters," which passed between himself and Dr. James Alexander during a period of forty years, beginning when they were boys, and only ending with the death of Dr. Alexander. Such an uninterrupted friendship is rare, and a corre- spondence preserved through so many years is prob- ably unique. It is a delightful and instructive volume for a leisure hour. His articles published in the Princeton Review arc: 1830, Memoir of Oberlin ; 1831, Arabs of the Desert ; 1832, Duty of the Church in Relation to Sunday-Schools; 1834, Religious Obliga- tions of Parents; 1836, Life of Harlan Page; 1840, Education in Europe ; 1842, Primitive Christian Wor- ship ; 1843, The Familiar Study of the Bible; 1844, Mental Cultivation ; 1845, Henderson on the Vaudois; 1848, Life of Elizabeth Fry, The Sandwich Islands ; 1854, Present State of Oxford University ; 1856, The Bible, the Missal, and the Breviary ; 1858, Life of Car- dinal Mezzofanti ; 1864. Life of Governor Winthrop; 1871, Life of Zeisberger.
Second Presbyterian Church .- It is elsewhere stated that in 1823 a colony seceded from the Trenton and Lamberton Baptist Church, and erected a house of worship on Union above Fall Street. This house ceased to be used by that society after the death of its pastor in 1833, and in 1837 a mission was established here by the Presbytery of New Bruns- wick, with Rev. Charles Webster in charge. This was suspended after a year ; but iu 1842 the property was purchased by the Presbyterians, the house was repaired and refitted, and was dedicated on the 24th of July in that year. On the 15th of the following November a church was organized here, with nine- teen members, under the name of "The First Presby- terian Church of South Trenton."
Rev. Baynard R. Hall was during six months a supply, and on the 21st of May, 1843, Rev. Daniel Dercuelle was installed as the first pastor of the church. He was succeeded by Rev. Anlsey D. White, who was installed July 23, 1848. He was followed, June 15, 1864, by Rev. George S. Bishop, and he, Oet. 11, 186-, by the present pastor, Rev. James B. Ken- nedy.
The necessity for enlarged accommodations led to the addition, in 1851, of forty fect to the rear of the church building, and the remodeling of the entire
our Debts," "Sabbath-school Theology," and the . cdifice, which was reopened in December of that year. " Life of Mrs. Sherwood." Besides these he is the . In 1852 the name of the society was changed to " The author of a " History of the Presbyterian Church in . Second Presbyterian Church of Trenton, N. J." In Trenton ;" scrmon on the death of Mrs. Arinstrong, 1857 a building thirty-two by sixty fect was erected for a lecture-room and Sunday-school, and in 1858 and the brothers James W. and J. Addison Alexan- der; sermon before the Young Men's Association of : the property was further improved by the building of New York ; oration before the Society of Cincinnati : a tasteful iron fence in front. In 1862 the church bceame free from debt, one-half of the necessary amount having been contributed by a lady member of the church. The period of Mr. White's pastorate is of New Jersey; several discourses in National Preacher and other periodicals; papers in American Quarterly Review, North American Review, and various religious
722
HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
spoken of as one in which the Sunday-school work of the church assumed great importance.
Third Presbyterian Church .- As early as 1846 the growing necessity for another Presbyterian Church in Trenton was recognized, and the subject was agi- tated. It was again talked of in 1848, but it was not till 1849 that any definite action was taken. On the 2d of May in that year the church was organized with seventeen members, and it afterwards adopted the name of "The Third Presbyterian Church of Treu- ton."
The first place of worship was Odd-Fellows' Hall, coruer of Greene and Hauover Streets, but arrange- ments for the ercction of a church edifice were soou made, and the corner-stone was laid on the 5th of November, 1849. The house was dedicated Nov. 7, 1850. Its cost, including site, was something more thau twenty thousand dollars. The City Hall had been used as a place of worship during six months preced- ing the occupancy of the church.
Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler was the first pastor of this church. He resigned after an able and success- ful pastorate of nearly four years, and was succeeded by Rev. Jacob Kirkpatrick, Jr., who was installed Nov. 3, 1853. His health failed, and his pastoral re- lation was dissolved Feb. 3, 1858. He died Oct. 27, 1859. Nov. 28, 1858, Rev. Henry B. Chapiu entered on his duties as pastor of this church, and was in- stalled Feb. 8, 1859. He resigned Jan. 1, 1866, to be- come associate principal of the Edge Hill School, at Princeton. The present pastor, Rev. Samuel M. Studdeford, was installed Feb. 26, 1866.
During the pastorate of Mr. Kirkpatrick a house adjoining the church on the south side was purchased for a parsonage, aud the pastor's library was estab- lished. In 1872 this house was exchanged for a more commodious one on the north side of the church.
In the autumn of 1866 some necessary repairs to the church were made, and the debt of the church was extinguished. On the 4th of July, 1879, the church took fire from a rocket that alighted on its roof, and was consumed. The congregation at once. determined to enlarge the building, the walls of which were uot destroyed. Accordingly, a vestibule was added in front, and the seating capacity was increased by thirty-seven pews. In the rear a chapel was erected, containing Sunday-school room, infant-class room, Bible-class room, library, and pastor's study.
The interior of the church is finished with ash, and the windows are of cathedral glass. The chapel is seated with Eastlake chairs. The total cost of this rebuilding and these improvements was twenty-three thousand dollars. The church is free from debt.
1858. He was installed Feb. 25, 1859. On the 2d of June, 1863, he was, at his own request, dismissed from the pastoral charge of this church to assume that of St. Peter's Church, of Rochester, N. Y. He was succeeded by Rev. W. M. Blackburn, who commenced his labors Dec. 28, 1863, and was installed in Febru- ary, 1864. His pastorate continued till Aug. 16, 1868, when he was elected to the Professorship of Biblical and Ecclesiastical History in the Presbyterian Theo- logical Seminary of the Northwest. The present pas- tor, Rev. R. H. Richardson, formerly of Newburyport, Mass., was called Oct. 5, 1868, and installed Decem- ber 3d of the same year.
The congregation worshiped in the City Hall at first, but soou after the organization of the church an eligible site was purchased at the intersection of State, Clinton, and Ewing Streets, and a church edifice was commenced. It was completed Oct. 15, 1860, exactly one year from the day on which the corner-stone was laid, and was dedicated on the uext day. It is an ele- gant brownstone structure, with a lecture-room and Sunday-school room in the rear, and a parsonage in the rear of this. The spire was blown down Jan. 2, 1870, but it was rebuilt, and the edifice is an orna- ment to the city. The church property is valued at about seventy-five thousand dollars.
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