USA > New Jersey > Union County > Elizabeth > History of Elizabeth, New Jersey : including the early history of Union County > Part 26
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Col. Townley's house (wherein I preacht at first), in half a year's time grew too little for my congregation, and the best place we could get to meet in was a barn, which, in Harvest, we were obliged to relinquish, whereupon the Dissenters, who, presently after I came, were destitute of their old Teachers (one of them being struck with death, in their meet- ing-house, as he was railing against the Church, and the other being at Boston), would not suffer me upon my request to officiate in their meet- ing-house unless I would promise not to read any of the prayers of the Church, which I complied with upon condition I might read the Psalins, Lessons, Epistle, and Gospel, appointed for the day, which I did and said all the rest of the service by heart, the doing of which brought a great many to hear me who otherwise, probably, would never have heard the service of the Church, and (through God's blessing) hath taken away their prejudice to such a degree as that they have invited me to preach in their meeting-house till our church be built. Their Teacher begins at
* IIumphrey's S. P. G. F., pp. 4-15, 24, 84, 75. Whitehead's P. Amboy, pp. 16-21. 211-12. Sprague's Annals, V. 25-30. Clark's St. John's, pp. 15-16. N. Y. Col. Docmts., IV. 1021. Keith's Journal, in P'. Ep. Ilis. Soc. Coll., I. 44, 5. Dankers' Journal, p. 346.
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THE HISTORY OF
eight in the morning, and ends at ten, and then our service begins, and in the afternoon we begin at two. The greatest part of the Dissenters gen erally stay to hear all our service .*
This letter sheds not a little light on the obscurity in which the early Church Annals of the town are involved. The early hour at which public worship was held, 8 o'clock A. M., deserves notice. This must have been an established custom. It is not probable, that they would give up their ordinary hours of service to accommodate a rival interest. Mr. Brooke was a missionary of the Propagation Society already named, and " arrived in East New Jersey, July 15," 1705. Lord Cornbury, to whom he applied at New York for counsel, "advised " him to "settle at Elizabeth Town and Perth Amboy." On the 20th of August, the very day of Mr. Harriman's decease, he wrote from Elizabeth Town to the Secretary of the Society. The coming of Mr. Brooke, as a local missionary to settle in the town, had probably occa- sioned Mr. Harriman to preach on the distinctive doctrines of his faith, and to contrast them with the doctrines of Epis- copacy. And, on the very day of his death, he may have been urging them, in this respect, to stand fast in the faith.
He must have died of apoplexy. His son, John, was a mer- chant, as well as a Surveyor. He exerted a wide influence over his townsmen. After his father's death, his accounts appear in the old Ledger, and some of them are very curious ; a specimen has been given in connection with the notice of the Martin family. David Harriman is mentioned in the Ledger, as follows: "1711. John Kirtland In Saybrook In New England Cr. by Bording David Harriman from the 17 of October to the 12 of June next at 48 6ª pr weke is £7. 8. 6 ; by candles 3. 4 ; by fire wood 8. 8. Dr. June 10, 1712. To Cash Delivered your wife In Saybrook, £8. 0. 6." David was, doubtless, his son, and pursuing his studies as a member of Yale College then located at Saybrook. Mr. Kirtland was the father of Rev. Daniel, of Norwich, Ct., the grandfather of the Rev. Samuel, "the Oneida missionary," and the great-grandfather of the Rev. John Thornton Kirkland, D. D.,
* Clark's St. John's Church, p. 19.
1
293
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
LL. D., of Harvard University. David, probably, died soon after. * Mr. Harriman's successor was
REV. SAMUEL MELYEN.
Mr. Brooke refers to the fact, that "the Dissenters," or Independents, had two ministers, at the time of his arrival, one of them "being at Boston," at that time. It appears from Mr. Harriman's Ledger, that Mr. Melyen was ordained and installed Pastor " of the Church of this town, about the twentieth of May, 1704, the expenses of the occasion being £1. 5. 10. Mr. Melyen was ordained the colleague of Mr. Harriman, as may be most properly inferred from the letter of Mr. Brooke.t
The Rev. SAMUEL MELYEN [MELYN] was the son of Jacob Melyen, one of the founders of the town, ot whom a particular account has been given on a previous page. Samuel, with his brother, Daniel, and sister, Abigail, was baptized in the Dutch Church at New York, where the family then resided, Aug. 7, 1677. His brother, Jacob, and sister, Susanna, had been baptized, Oct. 3, 1674, at which time, it is quite certain Samuel had not been born. His birth took place, most like- ly, in 1675, at New York, where his earlier years were spent. As early as 1690, probably, the family had removed to Boston, and soon after Samuel entered Harvard College, and enjoyed the instructions of that eminent divine, Rev. Increase Mather, D.D. He graduated in 1696, one year after Jedediah Andrews of Philadelphia, and one year before Jabez Wakeman of Newark, N. J. In a class of nine his
* Clark's Ilistory of St. John's, pp. 16, 19. In the old account book, John Boardman is credited, by John Harriman, Jr., Aug. 21, 1705, " by Diging fathers grave 4."
t " The exact account of wt we spen upon ye occasion is as follows p money layd out in sweet spice at N. Y. .3.6
p & of a bush" of wheat at 4s is. 3.00
p a bush" of barley mault. 3.9
p 6 n of butter .. 3.0
p I qt of rum 154 1.3
p 3 m shugr at 6d is.
1.6
p pepper 9d is. .0.9
p 4 1b. of cheese .22.0
pa qtrs lamb. wt Spf at 44 is 2.11
p 2 qt veal. 4.2
1.5 10
'This provision was, doubtless, for the ordination dinner, of which "toddy " seems to have been a necessary element. IIarriman's Ledger, p. 146.
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THE HISTORY OF
was the lowest rank .. A letter is extant among the Mather Mss. at Boston, addressed to Cotton Mather, in which he begs his aid, though unsuccessfully, in restoring him to a higher rank .*
In 1700-1, he taught the grammar-school at Hadley, Mass., one year, for £38. In December, 1702, he was either a resi- dent or a visitor in this town, his name appearing, on the 14th, as a witness to the will of John Clark. His uncle, Humphrey Spinning, 13 years before, and his cousin Daniel Spinning, the following year, had departed this life ; but Mrs. Spinning, his mother's sister, may yet have been living.
* Valentine's Manual for 1863, p. 795. Savage's Gen. Dict., III. 195.
As the only written memorial of the man, save the inscription on the next page, it is here given entire ; as found in the Proceedings of the Mass. His. Soc. for 1864-5, p. 34 : MAY 19th Año 1698
Reverend Sr. - After my Respects are paid to yo self and the Lady yor worthy consort, this is come to inform you that I have not as yet finished yor book, but intend that by ye Last day of this week, (God willing) to put a conclusion thereunto. Sr I hope you will not impute my tardyness to any thing of unwillingness, -- but partly to ye license you sent me, when you last sent ye original, & partly to my intervening business. Pray Sr be assured by this that I am not only willing & ready to serve you as far as in me lies, but esteem it an honour to be in your service, wherefore Sr, I hope you will not decline yor Impos'ing it upon me, at any time when yor occasions call for it.
One favor, WORTHY Sr. ! I should be exceedingly rejoyced to obtain at yor benign hands, if it may not engage yorself in a too great a trouble, which I will manifest after I have prmised, yt towards ye End of or Sophymoreship by my audaciously calling freshmen at ye door of ye worthy Mr Brattle in a way of contempt, ye Venerable and Reverend Presi- dent with my Tutor, ye well deserving Mr Leverett saw it convenient to place me ye Lowest in ye class, whereas before I was placed between Sr Remington and Sr Whitman.
Now, Sr my humble request is (seeing ye Catalogue hass not since been printed, & is before ye Ensuing Commencement to be printed) that you would be pleas'd to motion to ye Reverend President, that I may be reduced into my former station-Nothing Sr can be more gratefull to my Father & Mother, nor any thing more encouraging to me-I am very Sorry (& desire to be very penitent) that in that as well as in many other things I have dis- pleased so worthy a Gentleman as ye President, and so kind a Tutor as Mr Leverett wth ye Revd M' Brattle, hoping that ye remainder of my days may be so manidg'd that glory may redown to God, & thereby some satisfaction may be made for ye wrong I offer'd them- I lye at their feet & humbly beg their Pardon (praying ye Lord to forgive me in & thro his son Jes: Christ) hoping they will henceforth pretermitt ye offences of my former life and grant me this favour, which will much encourage me in my labour & lay me undr fresh obligations to serve them & yor noble self in any thing yt I may or can-Had I Sr been placed at first Inferior to ye rest, I should have been contented & thought it my place, (wherefore Sr I hope you will not conjecture that pride is ye Impulsive cause of this my Petition) but it being after such a nature as it was, makes me very desirous of reducemt- Sr All our class yt were placed at first beneath me, have voluntarily manifested unto me yt they were very willing I should enjoy my Antient standing. Thus S' hoping you will do yor Endeavor & pardon my boldness, I shall at prsent beg leave to conclude myself yor humble petitioner & hearty Servt
SAMUEL MELYEN .*
These
To ye Reverd Mr Cotton Mather with my hearty Respects pr Bishop Elliott . Prsent
295
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
Possibly, through the influence of his cousins, he may have been sent for to aid Mr. Harriman in his ministerial work; or he may have studied theology with him. At the decease of the latter, he was left in charge of the congregation. It is he, to whom Mr. Brooke refers, in speaking of " the Dis- seaters," as " their Teacher." At this time he was about 30 years old. The memorials of his ministry here are few and unsatisfactory. One of his books-" The Cambridge Con- cordance," published in 1698,-is now in the possession of Mr. Thomas O. Crane, of Rahway, whose father, Isaac Crane, of this town, bought it of Elizabeth Crane. It is a rare old book, and in good preservation. It contains the following beautiful autograph inscription :
Vita sine literis est Mortis Imago; at Vita sine Christo est Morte pejor. Si CHRISTUM discis, nihil est si caetera nescis. Si CHRISTUM nescis, nihil est si caetera discis. Samuelis Melyen Liber, Martii, 1° Anno Domini, 1702.
His ministry was short, his sun going down behind a very dark cloud. He was preaching regularly at the time Mr. Brooke wrote of him, Oct., 1706, and may have continued a year longer. The pulpit was vacant in 170S. Tradition. with some show of probability, accuses him of some immoral- ities unfitting him for the pulpit, and destroying the confi- dence of the people. The story reported by Dr. Murray is not very plausible, viz : That, " being strongly suspected of intemperance, the choir, on a certain Sabbath morning, sung a hymn as a voluntary, which he considered as designed to reprove and expose him. Whilst being sung, he descended from the pulpit, and taking his wife he walked out of the church, and never again entered it." The days of choirs and voluntaries, it should be remembered, had not yet come. Music in churches was but rudely performed; "in the latter part of the seventeenth, and at the commencement of the eighteenth century, the congregations throughout New Eng-
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THE HISTORY OF
land were rarely able to sing more than three or four tunes." No mention is made of choirs in churches before 1720, and none "of any regular choir having separate seats, in any church for thirty or forty years " after that date. "There were few country churches with a choir before 1765 or 70; and they certainly did not become common until near the · time of the American Revolution." At the time of Mr. Melyen's ministry, anthems, or voluntaries, as a part of the Sabbath service, were unknown. Note books were not to be found. All singing in the Churches was congregational, led by a precentor.
It is quite certain that Mr. Melyen was never married ; his sister, Joanna, abont seven or eight years younger than him- self, may have kept house for him. That he was intemperate, however, is quite likely. The temptations to this vice were, at that period, very great. The Rev. John Miller, of New York, in 1695, gives an appalling representation of the preva- lence of dissipation, there and then, among all classes of society.
Mr. Melyen, in retiring from the pulpit, continued to reside in the town until his death. In Feb., 1701%, he was ap- pointed, with Thomas Price, Overseer of High-Ways. At the Court of Quarter Sessions, sitting at this town, in No- vember of the same year, a complaint was brought against him by Matthias De Hart, of the nature of which no record remains. A true bill was found against him by the Grand Jury, and he was ordered into the custody of the Sheriff, until he should give special bail. At the sessions of the Court, in Newark, Aug. 21, 1711, he is reported as having deceased since the sessions in May. He died nearly at the same time with Col. Richard Townley, who was President of the Court by which he was indicted.
His Will bears date, May 10, 1711, and expresses a high degree of faith in the gospel of the Redeemer. He gives £35. to Mrs. Ann Gardener ; £5. to his Executor, George Jewell ; his pewter tumbler and silver spoon, to Mrs. Sarah Jewell ; his looking-glass and three "Turkey worked chears," to Sarah Jewell; his saddle, pillion, books, bow and arrows,
297
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
and " portmantle," to Cornelius Jewell; and the remainder of his possessions to his sister Abigail Tilley, at Boston. His Will was proved, July 26, 1711. No mention is made of wife or children. He appears to have boarded with George Jewell, and was, doubtless, a single man." *
It was during the ministry of Mr. Melyen, that the first Episcopal congregation of this town was gathered, and the foundations of St. John's Church were laid. This work was principally effected by their first minister, the
REV. JOHN BROOKE.
Of his birth and parentage nothing is on record, so far as is known. He was an Englishman, and, probably of Emanuel College, Cambridge, where one of his name took the Bache- or's degree in 1700, and the Master's degree in 1704. Hav- ing been admitted to orders in the Church of England, he was appointed, by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, one of their Missionaries to America. His first report, Aug. 20, 1705, says-
I arrived safe in East New Jersey July 15, and thence went to my Lord Cornbury-our Governor-who, after he had perused your letter, advised me to settle at Elizabeth Town and Perth Amboy. There are five Inde- pendent Ministers in and about the places I preach at, and the greatest part of the people are followers of them. But I question not (thro: God's blessing), but if you please to permit me to have only Elizabeth Town, Amboy, and the adjacent Towns under my care and to allow me enough to subsist upon without depending upon the People, that I shall gain a considerable Congregation in a very few years. As for those that are of the Church of England already, their Number is very inconsiderable, and I expect nothing from them for some years, seeing they are like to be at an extraordinary charge in building of a Church at each place.t
The "five Independent Ministers " were Messrs. Harriman and Melyen of this town, John Prudden of Newark, Samuel Shepard of Woodbridge, and the Minister of Piscataway, who left soon after, and whose name has not been preserved.
The circumstances connected with the early ministrations
Valentine's N. Y. Manual for 1863. p. 795. Savage, III. 196. Clark's St. John's, p. 19. Dr. MeDowell's Ms. Sermon, JJan. 1, 1811. Murray's Notes on E. T., p. 53. Hood's Music in N. Eng., pp. 56-9; 180. Hildreth's U. States, II. 159-92. Records of Court, at Newark, N. J. Wills at Trenton, No. 1. t Cat. of Univ. of Cambridge, Eng. Clark's St. John's, pp. 16, 17
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THE HISTORY OF
of Mr. Brooke have already been detailed (p. 291), in his own language. During the fall and winter of 1705-6, Col. Town- ley's house accommodated the congregation on the Sabbath, and, it is thought, furnished a home for the missionary. In the spring of 1706, they began to worship in a barn, fitted for the purpose. After the harvest season, the barn being occupied with the summer crops, the missionary was per- mitted to officiate twice every Sabbath in the Independent Church, on terms, which, though literally observed, were not fulfilled in fact. He was " not to read any of the prayers of the Church." The obvious understanding was, that the ser- vice of the Common Prayer-Book was not to be used. He evaded these conditions by committing the prayers to mem- ory, and saying them " by heart." It certainly is very much to the credit of the old church, that they allowed the rival congregation the stated use of their "meeting house," twice every Sabbath, on any terms, and continued this permission, when they saw that, in effect, the contract was habitually broken by Mr. Brooke.
In his report of Oct. 11, 1706, Mr. Brooke says :-
The people, in general, in all the places where I officiate, were either Dissenters or of no religion at all, when I came ; but now (through the blessing of God) many are come into the Fold. There are about ten communicants added since I wrote last. I laid the Foundation of a Brick church, at Elizabeth Town, on St. John the Baptist's day, whosename it bears. It is fifty foot long, thirty wide, and twenty-one high,-it hath nine windows-one in the East end, ten foot wide and fifteen high, two in each side, six foot wide and ten high, and four ovals-one of the East window, one in the West end, and one over each door, which are near the west end. The church is now covering, and I hope to preach in it in six weeks or two months. Wee shall only gett the outside of our church up this year, and I'me afraid t'will be a year or two more before we can finish the inside, for I find these hard times a great many are very back- ward to pay their subscriptions .*
Secretary Basse said of the Church, that it was " erected chiefly by the care and diligence of Colonel Richard Town- ly, who has given the ground it stands on, and a place for a Burying Ground."+
* Clark's St. John's, pp. 18-20.
1 Ib., 26. Prot. Ep. His. Coll., I. 70.
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, ELIZABETH, IN 1850.
299
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
He seems to have labored very conscientiously and dili- gently in his vocation. He performed no small amount of missionary work :-
Upon my arrival here (he says), insted of a body of church people to maintain me, I only met with a small handfull, the most of which could hardly maintain themselves, much less build churches or maintain mne. Upon which, being almost discouraged to find the Church had got so little footing in these parts, I resolved heartily and sincerely to endeavor to promote her, so much as in my power, in order to which I began to preach, catechize, and expound, twelve, fourteen, sometimes fifteen days per month (which I still do), and on other days to visit the people, through which means, by the blessing of God, my congregations increased every where so that I found very great necessity for churches.
Towards the building of five churches, and printing a tract, he contributed £50; and, besides, he says,-
It hath cost me above £10 in riding about the Provinces of New York and Pennsylvania, and this to get subscriptions. I could not have given near so much out of your £100 per annum, had not I been very well stocked with cloaths I brought from England, and had had some money of my own. For I ride so much, I'm obliged to keep two horses, which cost me £20, and one horse cannot be kept well under £10 or £11 per annum. 'Twill cost a man near £30 per annum to board here, and sure 'twill cost me much more who, Pilgrim-like, can scarce ever be three days together at a place. All cloathing here is twice as dear, at least, as 'tis in England, and riding so much makes me wear out many more than I ever did before. The Ferries which I've frequently to cross, and every thing else I've occasion for here, are very chargeable, and I've nothing to defray all my charges but what I receive from your Society ; neither can I expect any thing from my people before their churches be finished. To ask any thing [from them] yet, would be a means to deter people from joyning with me, and would be looked upon as offensive. I've so many places to take care of, that I've scarce any time to study ; neither can I supply any of them so well as they should be. I humbly beg, therefore, you'll be pleased to send a minister to take the charge of Elizabeth Town and Rawway upon him, and I'll take all the care I can of the rest .*
The Secretary of the Society, Rev. Dr. Humphreys, said of him,-
Mr. Brook used exceeding diligence in his cure, and was pleased to find the best of all sorts of people coming over to the Church of Eng- land. He exerted himself and at times used to perform Divine service at
៛ Clark's St. John's, pp. 20-2.
.
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THE HISTORY OF
seven places, fifty miles in extent ; namely, at Elizabethtown, Rahway, Perth Amboy, Cheesequakes, Piscataway, Rock Hill, and in a congrega- tion at Page's. This duty was very difficult and laborious .*
The ministry of Mr. Brooke came to an abrupt termina- tion, in November, 1707. The Rev. Thorowgood Moore, of Burlington, had, by his faithful rebuke of Lord Cornbury's disgusting immoralities, drawn upon himself the wrath of the Governor, by whom he was arrested and imprisoned at N. York. Mr. Brooke deeply sympathized with his afflict- ed brother, and, when in prison, visited him. Mr. Moore escaping, and Mr. Brooke being sought for by the en- raged Governor, they resolved to proceed to London, and lay . their grievances before the proper authorities at home. They embarked at Marblehead, Mass., in November, 1707, for England, but the vessel was lost at sea, and all on board perished.+
Mr. Brooke seems to have been greatly esteemed and much lamented. The Rev. Mr. Talbot says of him and Mr. Moore, they are "the most pious and industrious Missionaries that ever the Honorable Society sent over." "Honest Elias Neau," as Col. Morris called him, said of them,-they
Were assuredly an honor to the mission, and labored with much vigor for the enlargement of the Kingdom of our glorious Redeemer, and we may say, without prejudice to the rest, that they were the Glory of all the Missionaries the Illustrious Society has sent over hither. The purity and candor of their manners preached as efficaciously as their mouths, in- somuch that we cannot sufficiently lament the loss of these two good servants of God,-whose crime was for opposing and condemning boldly vice and immorality.
His people, years afterwards, spoke of him as their " worthy, and never to be forgotten Pastor, whose labors afforded them universal satisfaction." ±
He left a widow, the younger of the two daughters of Capt. Christopher Billop, whose residence and large plantation at the southern extremity of Staten Island, gave to it the name of Billop's Point, which it still retains. Subsequently she
* Humphreys' His. of S. P. G. F. P., pp. 188-90.
Clark's St. John's, pp. 24-32. N. Y. Col. Docmts., IV. 1077.
# Clark's St. John's, p. 25. Humphreys' S. P. G. F. P., p. 190. N. Y. Col. Docmts., V. 318
301
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
became the wife of the Rev. Wm. Skinner, of Amboy, but died without issue .*
By the death of Mr. Brooke, and the retirement of Mr. Melyen, both of the churches of the town became vacant at the same time, and the people were once more left without a preacher.
* Whitehead's P. Amboy, p. 94.
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THE HISTORY OF
.
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CHAPTER XIV.
A. D. 1702-1740.
Land Titles - Political Parties -Lord Cornbury, Gov. - Corruption of use Court - Act of Indemnity - Lord Lovelace, Gov. - His Death - Robert Hunter, Gov. - Death of Col. Townley - Officials of the Town -Card-Playing not tolerated - Newark Bounds - Suit of Vaughan vs. Woodruff -Early Town Books lost - Town Committee of Seven - List of Freeholders in 1729 - Lithgow vs. Robison, &c. - Measures of Defence against the Proprietors - Sale of Town Lands-Fenn vs. Chambers & Alcorn - Sale of more Land - Distribution of Land in 1737 - Cooper vs. Moss, &c. - Logan vs. Manning -Newark Bounds -Lewis Morris, Gov. - Borough Charter - Officials - Newspaper Notices.
THE surrender of the right of Jurisdiction to the Crown, on the part of the Proprietors, while it greatly simplified the matter of government, made no change whatever, in respect to the contest growing out of the conflicting titles to the lands of this town and vicinity. It rather served to intensify the excitement and the hostility of parties ; inasmuch as, by an implied compromise, it was understood, that the royal gov- ernment would confirm the Proprietors in their claims to the possession of the soil, as a compensation for their surrender of sovereignty.
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