USA > New Jersey > Union County > Elizabeth > History of Elizabeth, New Jersey : including the early history of Union County > Part 25
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AT the decease of the Rev. Seth Fletcher, in August, 1682, the people of this town were left without the stated ministra- tions of the sanctuary. Nor was it easy to obtain a com- petent person to fill the vacancy. The Quaker administra- tion came into power, three months after Mr. Fletcher's decease, and the tide of immigration from Scotland began to set in. In the letters written home by the exiles, as has been seen, one of the chief, and almost the only one of the, com- plaints made, is the dearth of ministers. It became necessary to resort to " Deacon Meetings," as referred to in 1684 by Watson : " And now the people they meet together every Sabbath day, and Read and Pray, and sing Psalms in their Meeting-houses." At that time, there was no settled preacher " within all the Province of East Jersey, except one who" was " Preacher in Newark," Abraham Pierson. John Allen was at Woodbridge, but had ceased to supply the pulpit .*
Possibly Mr. Allen, of whose " good abilities," after more " experience," the Woodbridge people were not as confident as at first, may have been occasionally employed here. But nowhere, in any accessible document, has any intimation been found, by which it can be determined, how or by whom the pulpit was supplied during the five years next succeed- ing Mr. Fletcher's death. At length, in 1687, they united in a call to the
* Scot's Model of E. J., pp. 199, 200. Whitehead's P. Amboy, pp. 383, 4.
281
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
REV. JOHN HARRIMAN.
This worthy minister of the gospel was a native of New Haven, Ct., the associate, in his boyhood, of many of the more youthful of the early settlers of this town. His father, John, was at New Haven, in 1646, and soon after was mar- ried to Elizabeth -, and had two children :- John, bap- tized, January 24, 1643; and Elizabeth, baptized, July 23, 1648. He was put in charge of the town-ordinary, of which he was the keeper many years. He was, also, a respected member of the Church.
His only son, John, was trained from childhood under the eye of that rigid old Puritan, the Rev. John Davenport, by whom he had been baptized. The old pastor, finding him apt to learn, encouraged him to seek, and his father to give him, a liberal education. In his 13th year, he came under the instruction of his townsman, Mr. Jeremiah Peck, at that time, principal of the grammar-school at New Haven, and afterwards the first pastor of this town. At the age of fifteen, he was sent to the college at Cambridge, Ms., to be educated under the supervision of the Rev. Charles Chauncy. He graduated in 1667, in the same class with Gershom Hobart, and one year in advance of Abraham Pierson, Jr., and John Prudden.
After his graduation, he returned to New Haven, and taught the Hopkins grammar school, several years, being occasionally employed as a preacher at New Haven, East Haven, and Wallingford, Ct. During the life-time of the Rev. Mr. Street, he had probably preached for him occasion- ally at New Haven ; and at his death, Ap. 22, 1674, he was frequently called upon to supply the vacant pulpit. In the latter part of that year, or the early part of the next; he went over to Southampton to preach as a candidate for the pulpit, made vacant by the decease, in 1674, of the Rev. Robert Fordham. He accepted their call, and was put in possession of the parsonage, " upon termes ye towne and he hath agreed on," April 12, 1675. Early in 1676, he returned to New Haven, and, in July of that year, became the stated supply
282
THE HISTORY OF
of the pulpit in his native town. He continued there until 1682, preaching most of the time; but the people were divided between him and Mr. Joseph Taylor, who preached a part of the time, from 1676 to 1679, and was then settled at Southampton.
In 1682, the East Haven people appointed a Committee to "goe to Mr. Harriman, and treat with him, and desire his help in the Ministry amongst" them, "and further, to give him an invitation to a settlement in the work of the ministry." They agreed to give him £50, for his support-" current money with the merchant." In November 1683, they gave him a formal call, and resolved to build at once a house for the minister, 36 ft. long, of 2 stories; for which they sub- scribed £104. 10. 0. The house, however, was not built, and Mr. Harriman remained with them but a short time longer.
In October 1684, he was associated with Robert Vauquel- lin, [" Vorklain "], in running the boundary line between New York and Connecticut, having been appointed Surveyor, for this purpose, by the General Court, at Hartford, May 8th, 1684. It is probable, therefore, that he had been previously employed, and perhaps, for years, occasionally, as a Practical Surveyor. Vauquellin had long been so employed in East Jersey, and it is not likely, that in an affair of so much im- portance, any but the most skillful surveyor would be ap- pointed on the part of Connecticut. In occupations of this kind, he was, probably, employed for a year or two, when his steps were directed hither-possibly by Vauquellin him- self. He had many old friends here, as also had the South- ampton people. It is not strange, therefore, that his name should have been suggested, and a desire expressed to hear him. He was installed the pastor of this Church, most probably, September 30th, 1687, as appears from the follow- ing memorandum in his Ledger, under date of Nov. 1, 1694 : "we Reckoned & my 7th year payd wch ended 7 br 30th last pceeding this date." All his reckonings with his parishioners are from the same date. Gov. Lawrie lived a few days only after his coming. The Quaker rule had ceased a year before, and the Scotch were now in power. Lord Campbell had
.
283
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
returned home, but Hamilton, his deputy, was also Scotch, and, doubtless, a Presbyterian.
Mr. Harriman married, as early as 1673, Hannah, a daughter of Richard Bryan, of Milford, Ct. She was born in 1654, and her twin sister, Mary, was married (1.) to John Maltby, of New Haven, and (2.) to a Mr. Howell, of Long Island, probably Edward of Southampton. Another sister, Frances, was married to Joseph Treat of Milford; and yet another, Sarah, married (1.) Samuel Fitch, and (2.) Mungo Nisbett, whose name appears in his old Ledger. Mr. Bryan, as his father had been before him, was the richest man in Milford. Six children had been born to Mr. Harriman, when he came, in his 40th year, to this town. John was his eldest son, (born 1674), and, like his father, became eminent as a land surveyor. Samuel was born, June 25, 1676 ; Ann, July 5, 1678 ; Mary, in 1680; Leonard, in 1683; and Richard, in 1685. Three sons were born to him here. His family having increased since his settlement, and his salary being only £60 a year, he applied, in 1692, to the Proprietors, for a grant of land, in consideration, also, of his having " ex- pended large sums in purchasing and improving." He re- ceived a grant of one hundred acres .*
He was evidently a man of great exactness, a trait of char- acter greatly promoted by his occasional practice of the art of surveying. Soon after his entering on the pastoral work here, he opened an account with every one of the subscri- bers to his support ; noting carefully the amount of the sub- scription, and the times of payment ; specifying by whom and to whom (in many cases) the sum was paid ; whether in cash, or otherwise ; whether in merchandise or services ren- dered. These accounts were kept in two books; the first covering the period from 1687 to 1693; the second, from 1694 to 1705. The first of these books is lost ; the second is preserved, having been presented to Rev. John McDowell, some sixty years since, by Mr. William Harriman, the grand- son of the old pastor. Several particulars of much interest,
* Savage, I. 281-2; II. 358. Bacon's New Haven, pp. 138-60, 810. Howell's Southampton, pp. 104-5, 132. Whitehead's E. J., p. 168. E. J. Records. Dodd's E. Haven Register, pp. 60-1. N. Y. Col. Docmts., IV. 630-2.
284
THE HISTORY OF
illustrative of the town-history, have been gathered from this venerable and well-preserved folio. A list of subscri- bers to his support in the year 1694, is given in the margin, in the order in which their accounts arc entered .*
£. s. d.
. £. s. d.
Mr. Henry Lyon,
8.10. 0
Nicholas Baker,
0. 10. 0
Deacon George Ross,
1. 10. 0
Abraham Baker,
0. 5. 0
Daniel Ross,
0. 10. 0
Obadiah Sales,
0. 15. 0
James Hinds,
0. 15. 0
John Ross,
0. 10. 0
David Woodruff,
0. 10. 0
Capt. John Baker,
0. 15. 0
John Parker,
1. 0. 0
John Meaker,
0. 12. 0
William Browne,
1. 10. 0
Richard Clarke, Jr.,
0. 6. 0
Deacon Jonathan Ogden,
3. 0. 0
Ebenezer Lyon,
0. 10. 0
Mr. John Ogden,
3. 0. 0
John Clarke,
0. 6. 0
Widow Hannah Lyon,
1. 10. 0
John Hinds.
0. 12. 0
Joseph Lyon,
0. 18. 0
Nathaniel Tuttle,
1. 0 0
Benjamin Lyon,
0. 15. 0
Thomas Thompson,
0. 6. 0
Mr. Isaac Whitehead,
0. 10. 0
George Pack,
0. 10. 0
Joseph Osborne,
1. 0. 0
John Miles,
0.15. 0
Nathaniel Bunnell,
1. 10. 0
John Pope,
0. 8. 0
Nathaniel Bunnell, Jr.,
0. 6. 0
Jonas Wood,
0. 12. 0
Nathaniel Lyon,
0. 15. 0
Jonathan Clement,
0. 10. 0
Moses Thompson,
1. 0. 0
John Looker,
0. 1. 6
Mr. John Woodruff,
2. 0. 0
Jeremiah Crane,
0. 6. 0
Henry Norris,
2. 0. 0
Stephen Crane,
0. 15. 0
Mr. Benjamin Ogden,
1. 10. 0
William Hill,
0. 10. 0
Benjamin Meeker,
1.10. 0
Roger Lambert,
0. 6. 0
Mr. Benjamin Price, Jr.,
1. 10. 0.
Ebenezer Spinning,
0. 6. 0
Robert Smith,
1. 0. 0
Joseph Halsey,
0. 6.0
Robert Moss,
1. 0. 0
John Lambert,
0. 6. 0
Benjamin Pierson,
0. 18. 0
John Gold,
0.12. 0
Alexander Keenee,
0. 10. 0
James Crighton,
1. 0. 0
Benjamin Trotter,
0. 6. 0
Jeremiah Osborn,
0. 6. 0
Joseph Sayer,
1. 0. 0
Edward Frazee,
0. 8. 0
Thomas Price,
0. 15. 0
William Looker, Jr.,
0. 4. 0
Ephraim Price,
0. 10. 0
Joseph Ffrazee,
1. 0. 0
Capt. Daniel Price,
0.15. 0
George Thorp,
0. 5.0
John Price,
0. 6. 0
Charles Tooker, Jr.,
0. 1.0
Mr. Benjamin Price,
1. 0. 0
John Radley,
0. 6. 0
Aaron Thompson,
0. 15. 0
Shamgar Barnes,
0. 3.0
Mary & John Thompson,
1. 5. 0
John Herrick,
0. 8. 0
John Winans,
1. 10. 0
William Richardson,
0. 3. 0
Widow Mary Bond,
0. 5. 0
Henry Walvin,
0. 3. 0
Joseph Whitehead,
0. 10. 0
John Indes,
0. 3. 0
Richard Clarke,
1. 0. 0
John Nuee,
0. 3.
Cornelius & Mary Hatfield,
1. 10. 0
William Strahern,
0. 6. 0
Nathaniel Whitehead,
0. 6. 0
William Oliver,
0. 5.0
Thomas Lee,
0. 6. 0
Samuel Oliver,
0. 6. 0
William Millar,
1. 10. 0
William Oliver, Jr.,
0. 6. 0
Jeoffrey Jones,
0. 10. 0
Joshua Clarke,
0. 6. 0
Mr. Joseph Wilson,
3. 0. 0
John Osborne,
0. 6. 0
Samuel Trotter,
0. 5. 0
Richard Baker,
0. 6. 0
Joseph Meaker,
2. 0. 0
Derrick Baker,
0. 0. 9
Hendrick Baker,
0. 15. 0
Henry Harriss,
0. 6.0
The number of the names is ninety-nine, not including Widow Mary Hatfield, mentioned
Joseph Woodruff,
0.12.0
George Jewell,
,
285
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
The whole number of actual subscribers was one hundred and twenty-four; and the subscriptions amount to £83. 11. 0. The names of several prominent inhabitants are wanting in these lists. Mr. Harriman had large dealings with the Qua- ker, Andrew Hampton, whose principles would not allow him to subscribe. Mr. Hampton is credited, however, Oc- tober 1st, 1698, with "gift in order to my maintenance 26s." The names of Col. Richard Townley, Thomas Terrill, Andrew Craig, afterwards identified with St. John's Church, do not appear ; nor of any who came over with Gov. Carteret, ex- cept William Hill, who had carly been admitted as one of the Associates of the town. The Governor's party had al- most wholly died out.
A very small part only of the subscriptions were paid in cash. The most of them are credited with produce, meat, grain, and vegetables. Many of them, with labor by the day, on the farm, at the mill, in the garden, in building his house or barn, in repairing ; in shoemaking, tailoring, weav- ing ; in dry goods and groceries. A list of the prices current from 1694 to 1705 is subjoined for the entertainment of the curious .*
with her son Cornelius, and Widow Mary Thompson, with her son John. Of the three sons of Mrs. ITatfield, Cornelius subscribed 10s. Abraham, 10s., and Isaac, 15s.
At the town meeting, held January 18, 1699, the following additional subscribers were en rolled :
£ s.d.
£ s. d.
Samuel Sayer,
0. 6. 0
Francis Sayer, 0. 3. 0
John Erskin, 0. 5. 0
William l'arent, 0. 6. 0
Samuel Whitehead,
0. 9. 0
John Boardman, 0. 6. 0
Benjamin Bond,
0. 6. 0
Samuel Millar, 0. 6. 0
The following were added (all but the last two) at the town meeting, March 11, 170? :
John Alling, 0. 6. 0
Samuel Clarke, 0. 6. 0
Isaac Bunnell, 0. 15. 0
Benjamin Woodruff, 0. 6. 0
Thomas Clarke, 0. 6. 0
John Magic, 0. 6. 0
Jonathan Ilinds, 0. 6. 0
Thomas Sayer, 0. 6. 0
Samuel Little,
0. 6. 0
Thomas Keence, 0. 5.0
Joseph Ogden,
0. 6. 9
George Ross, Jr., 0. 10. 0
Samuel Wood, 0. 9.0
Ephraim Clarke,
0. 6. 0
Ilens, 9d. en.
Beef, do. do. do.
Oxen, £4. 10.
. Pork, 2} to 3d.
Colts, 14s. Ewe Sheep, 10s. to 11s. ca.
Venison, 1d.
Ilelfers, £3.
Turkeys, 15d. ea.
Beef, £1. 15. 0., barrel.
Capens, 1s. 6d. ca. Ducks, 133d.
Salt shad, 3d. ea.
Thomas Moore, 0. 10. 0
* Vea!, 1} to 2d. 1b.
286
THE HISTORY OF
Mr. Harriman was a man of large business. His 100 acre lot " in the plains" he cleared and cultivated. He charges " my lot in ye plaines," June 6, 1/01, with cost of "beer, cake & rum to ye volunteers at ye clearing sª lott-£1. 7. 1}." He rented of Capt. Ebenezer Wilson, of New York, the mill on the creek, (the same that " old John Ogden " built at the bridge, and mortgaged Oct. 9, 1668, to Cornelius Steenwyck of New York), for which he and Capt. Benjamin Ogden, his partner, paid £25, per year. Nathaniel Whitehead had charge of the mill. In 1698, he built a new house in Meadow st., north of Jersey st., finishing it, however, in 1701, and moving into it in the fall of that year. Where he lived pre- viously does not appear ; probably, on the parsonage ground, south of the creek, near the present Rail Road crossing. His
Oysters, 9d. to 14d., hun .; 2s. 9d. gal.
Wheat, 4s. to 6s. bush.
Buckwheat, 2s.
Rye, 3s. 4}d.
Day's work, 2s. 3d. man.
Meslin, 3s. 9d. 66
1s. woman.
Turnips, 1s.
¥ 3s. man and oxen.
Oats, 22¿d. Peas, 4s. .
Pasturing ox, 1s. week.
Apples, 2s. to 38. 66
Fanning, 2d. bush.
Salt, 4s. 4d. to 5.
Shingles, 3s. 6d. hun.
Cider, 13s. bbl.
Rails, 6s. to 14s.
Butter, 6d. 1b.
Clapboards, 5s.
Cheese, 4}d. Ib.
Shoes for chil., 3s. pr.
Sugar, 6d.
" women, 5s. pr.
Flax, 9d. to 1s. 6d. lb.
1
" men. 6s. 9d. pr.
Hops, 1s.
Barrels, 3s. ea. Pails, 2s. 3d. «
Tobacco, 4d. to 10d. 1b. Hides, 2d.
Hats for men, 22s. to 33s. ea.
Allum, 9d.
Paper, 1s. 6d. to 1s. 10d. qu.
Indigo, 4}d. to 8d? oz.
Powder, 3s. 6d. lb.
Eggs, 3d. to 4d. doz.
Shot, 4}d.
Hay, 10s. to 20s. load.
Brooms, 4}d. ea.
Stones, 3s.
Pins, 13¿d. paper.
Wool, 13}d. 1b.
Ozenbriggs, 1s. 8d. yd.
Rum, 1s. 6d. qt. Cider, 3d.
Kersey, 5s. 6d. to 7s. yd.
Molasses, 2s. 9d. gal.
Whale Oil, 2s. 10d. jar.
Linsey wolsey, 4s.
Raccoon skins, 1s. 6d. ea.
Making cider, 4}d. bbl.
Killing a cow, 28. 3d
" calf, 1s. 6d.
" hog, 1s.
" pig, 8d.
Serge, 4s. 6d. to 6s. Buttons, 6d. to 9d. doz.
Stockings, 4s. 6d. pr. Gloves, 4s. 6d.
Silk (black), 48. 6d. oz. 0
Killing a sheep, 9d. Shearing 2d. Weaving, 8d. yd.
Indian corn, 1s. 6d. to 3s. bush .-
1s. boy.
66 5s. man and team.
Pepper, 6s.
Buckets, 2s. “
Holland, 3s. 6d to 4s. 3d. yd. Fustian, 2s. 3d.
Linen (blue), 1s. 4d. to 2s. yd.
.
287
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
"new barne " he built in 1702 " length 24 feet : breadth 22, height 11 feet." It was built "by Benjn Meaker & Benj" Trottar." Benjamin Pierson, Joseph Woodruff, Alexander Keeney, Joseph Osborn, Daniel Ross, and Richard Harri- man have each the credit of carting for it one load. The builders received £7. In addition, he says, " the cost of my barne, built this summer, £7. 14. 0."-the " timber getting & framing given me except 18s To ye carpenters."
Not content with preaching, pastoral visitation, farming, and carrying on a flour mill, he had, also, a cider press ; he had an agency for furnishing glass to his neighbors ; he sur- veyed lands now and then; he attended the Legislature, as a Deputy, having been thus elected, in 1693, 1694, 1695, and 1698. Like the most of his profession, he kept a boarding school, also. His Ledger shows, that, from 1695 to 1702, he had the following pupils under his care, most if not all of whom boarded with him : David Selleck, Richard Lawrence, John Potter, John Thelwell, John Wessels, John Ranselere, Wm. Cooley, Andrew Wandler, (his son) Richard, Jeremiah Floyd, Wm., son of John Crooke, of New York, John Man- verte, Joshua Swaine, James Robeson, Joseph Tapping, Joseph Meaker, Jonathan Sayer, John Harrison, John Le Roax, Edward Taylor, and Peter Jewey. His price for board was 5s. a week ; and for teaching " the art of Naviga- tion," £3.
He dealt considerably in real estate, also. In 1694, he sold to John Miles, his nephew, half an acre of land, on which to build his house, for £5. In 1703, he bought of Miles "his dwelling-house, &c." for £65. The date of this transaction is May 24. But under date of May 17, 1703, " John Blanchard, gallicus," [Frenchman], is charged with " a house &c sold you to day at £80." Could this be the same, or was it his own new house ? Still earlier, March 25, 1703, Aaron Thompson is credited with " his 4 acre home lott at £20," the payment of which was completed, May 12, 1704.
He dealt, also, in slaves, at least, for his own use : " We bought the Negro Toney Augt 14th 1697 of Charles Tooker jun' for 481b." It is probable that Capt. Ben. Ogden was one
288
THE HISTORY OF
of the " we" and that Toney was principally employed at the mill. Or the " we" may include his son John. Again, Oct. 28, 1701, he bought of " Mr. James Emot, an indian girle named Hagar," for £19. 10. 0.
Occasionally he records the hire of a horse, or of a man and horse, for a journey to New England. On one occasion, Jan., 1698, Joseph Woodruff accompanied him to Milford, Ct., where they had a conference with Gov. Treat, as appears from Mr. Woodruff's affidavit in the answer to the E. T. Bill in Chancery, p. 47.
It appears, also, that it was customary to take a contribu- tion in the church every Lord's Day, of the proceeds of which an account is preserved, only for a part of 1699. A speci- men of these entries is here given : " Feb' 19-cash 19s. 10gd. wampom 11d .- £1.00.9}."
Feb. 1st, 1695, John Woodruff, carpenter, is credited with " making a coffin for my dear Leonard ; " and in September, " wth a coffin for my son Alexander." Two sons taken from him in one year ! Leonard was 13 years old; Alexander was at least 5 or six years younger, having been born in this town.
Of the preaching of Mr. Harriman no written memorials remain, and scarcely any thing traditional. It is greatly to his credit, that, in the midst of the excitements of 1688, of the anarchy of 1690-2, and of the revolutionary period from 1699 to 1702, he should have succeeded in retaining not only his place, but also the affection and confidence of his people. His sympathies were altogether on the side of popular rights. His manly words of cheer on the Sabbath greatly encouraged the town in their long-protracted struggle against oppression. Like his predecessor, he, doubtless, had to contend with opposers. The Quakers; under the influence of Rudyard and Lawrie, had increased in number and influence, and probably had formed themselves, as in other settlements, into a reli- gious society, in the southern part of the town. The Scotch, of course, with their national preference for Presbyterian doctrine and worship, adhered to him and his Puritan Church. Col. Morris wrote, in 1700, as follows :
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY. 289
Elizabeth Town and Newark were peopled from New England ; are generally Independents; they have a meeting-house in each town for their public worship. There are some few Churchmen, Presbiterians, Anabaptists, and Quakers, settled among them .*
" Some few Churchmen," there had been from the begin- ning. Gov. Carteret, of course, was a Churchman ; and such were, doubtless, the most of those who sided with him in his conflicts with the people. Emott and Townley, and the men that associated with them in adhering to the fortunes of the Jacobite government, were either Churchmen or Papists. It seems somewhat strange, that, in these circum- stances, no attempts should have been made, for a whole generation and more, to introduce Episcopacy into the town ; that the Episcopal portion of the community should, so long, have been content to worship with their Puritan neighbors. That so long a period should have elapsed, before any at- tempt was made to gather a separate Society, argues the fewness of their number, and the vast preponderance of the Puritan element.
The first efforts, so far as known, to perform Episcopal services in the town, were made shortly after the commence- ment of the royal rule, under Lord Cornbury, in 1703. Corn- bury had been charged with a special mission in behalf of the Church of England :-
You shall take especial care, that God Almighty be devoutly and duly served throughout your Government, the Book of Common Prayer as by Law established, read cach Sunday, and Holy-day, and the Blessed Sacrament administered according to the Rites of the Church of England." +.
Opportunely for the fulfillment of these Instructions, " the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts " had just been chartered, and their first missionaries to Amer- ica, George Keith and John Talbot, appointed. Keith had been a Quaker, though a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, (born in 1638), and a Presbyterian. He had emigrated to Amer- ica in 1682, and had been Surveyor General of East Jersey
* Proceedings of N. J. Ilis. Soc., IV. 118.
t Learning and Spicer, p. 653. Smith's N. J., p. 232.
19
290
THE HISTORY OF
from 1685 to 1688, when he became a preacher. His com- manding abilities and scientific attainments (bred as he was at the University of Aberdeen) gave him great influence among the Quakers, and made him the leader of the ortho- dox party among them. In 1700, he left them, and was or- dained a priest by the Bishop of London. He returned to America in June 1702, and traveled extensively for nearly two years, principally among his old friends. Here, in this town, and its vicinity, he had numerous acquaintances, and, of course, it was not difficult to gather for him an audience among his old neighbors and friends. At the house of An- drew Craig, a fellow-Scotchinan (with whom, probably, he had been acquainted at home before they came to America in 1682), he was hospitably entertained ; and there, Friday, Nov. 3, 1703, he preached, from 2 Pet. 1 : 5, on the. Christian Graces. On the same occasion, he baptized the four children of Mr. Craig. The next day, he says, "I Baptized the children of Andrew Hemton, [Hampton], eight in Number ; He and his Wife are come over from Quakerism to the Church. And November 3 I Baptized Seven children of a Widow Woman there." At the end of six weeks, he re- turned, and, at the invitation of Col. Townley, performed di- vine service at his house, twice on the Lord's Day, December 19; of which the following record is preserved :
December 19, Sunday .- I preached at the House of Col. Townly, in Elizabeth-Town, both Forenoon and Afternoon, on 1 Pet. 2: 9. Many of that Town having been formerly a sort of Independents, are become well affected to the Church of England, and desire to have a Minister of the Church of England sent to them. There I baptized a Child of Mr. Shakmaple,-(the son-in-law of Col. Townley).
This was the first occasion, doubtless, of a separate service of public worship on the Sabbath, since the settlement of the town, a period of 39 years. (Gov. Carteret, as Dankers in- forms us, went "often to New York and generally to Church." Others may have done the same.) It must have been quite a trial to Mr. Harriman and his people to have a rival interest in the town. But the establishment of an Epis- copal Church in the town was a foregone conclusion. The
·
291
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
Governor, Lord Cornbury, had just been holding his first General Assembly, for four weeks, at Amboy, and had cer- tainly prepared the way for such a movement in the several towns of the Province. On the previous Sunday, 12th, and on Christmas day following, Keith preached at Amboy ; on the 12th, " at my Lord Cornbury's lodgings, where he was present." *
Mr. Harriman was removed by death, Aug. 20, 1705, in the 58th year of his age. The only particular notice of this event is found in the "Boston News Letter," of Sept. 10, 1705, as follows :
Elizabeth Town in Jersey, Aug. 30. On Monday the 20 Currant, Dyed here in the Afternoon the Reverend Mr. John Harriman, Pastor of the Church in this place, Aged about 60 Years: Who the same day at a Church Meeting told his people, that his time of departure drew near, and exhorted them to Peace and Unity one with another, and to stand fast in the Covenant that they had engaged themselves to.
Some light may be cast on this sad event, and on the state of the people consequent upon it, by reference to a commu- nication from the pen of the Rev. John Brooke, the first Minister of St. John's Church in this town, dated Oct. 11, 1706, in which he says :
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