USA > New Jersey > Union County > Elizabeth > History of Elizabeth, New Jersey : including the early history of Union County > Part 48
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REV. THOMAS BRADBURY CHANDLER. Mr. Chandler was in his 22d year, when he came to this
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THE HISTORY OF
town. He was a descendant of William Chandler, who, with his wife, Hannah, and four children,-Hannah, Thomas, John and William,-came to this country from England, and settled at Roxbury, Mass., in 1637. His son, John, born in England, in 1635, married, Feb. 16, 1659, Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Wm. Douglas, and had eight children,-John, Eliza- beth, John 2d, Joseph, Hannah, Mehitable, Sarah, and Jo- seph, all born at Roxbury. In 1686, he united with several of his neighbors in the settlement of Woodstock, Ct., of the church of which he was chosen Deacon, and where, too, he died, Ap. 15, 1703. His son, John, born, April 16, 1665, married, Novem. 10, 1692, Mary, daughter of Joshua Ray- mond, of New London, and had ten children,-John, Joshua, William, Mary, Elizabeth, Samuel, Sarah, Mehitable, Thomas, and Hannah. His son, William, born, at Woodstock, No- vem. 3, 1698, married Jemima Bradbury, who is thought to have been a daughter of Thomas Bradbury of Salisbury, Mass., whose father, William, married, Mar. 12, 1672, Re- becca, the widow of Samuel Maverick, and daughter of the Rev. John Wheelwright. Her father was born Dec. 24, 1674. Her son, Thomas Bradbury, was born April 26th, 1726. *
.
His early years were spent on the paternal farm. He graduated at Yale College, in 1745. In 1747, he was invited to serve as catechist at North Castle and Bedford, Westches- ter- Co., N. Y. ; but declined in favor of St. Peter's Church, Westchester. Directly, however, after the decease of Mr. Vaughan, he came to St. John's, in this town, about the 1st of December, 1747, and entered at once upon the duties of his mission. In commending him, at the request "of the good people of Elizabeth Town," to the Propagation Society, Dr. Johnson speaks of him, as having'" known him three years at least," and as " a truly valuable person, of good parts and competent learning for his time and our circum- stances, and of good morals and virtuous behaviour." The Rev. Samuel Seabury, also, spake of him, as one who " from his furniture in learning, prudence, gravity, sincere piety,
* Savage's Gen. Dict., I. 857. Sprague's Annals, V. 137.
PARSONAGE OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, ERECTED 1817.
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ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
and good temper, as well as agrecable voice," bade fair to be " very useful in the designs of the Society."
He was consequently appointed by the " Venerable So- ciety," in May, 1748, their Catechist at Elizabeth Town, N. J., on a stipend of £10. a year, the church obliging themselves, in case he should be appointed to the mission, "to raise the sum of £50 Current Money of the Province, per annum," in addition, and to provide him a convenient parsonage .*
At the close of his second year, Dec. 20, 1749, he reports, --
I have not only read Divine Service, and catechized the children, but have constantly visited all Ranks of People in the congregation-Particu- larly that part of the congregation which lives in Raway, a place four or five miles distant from the Church .... I have occasionally read di- vine service at a Private House in Raway, and have been surprised at seeing the great concourse of People on that occasion. I find there num- bers of the Dissenters well affected towards the Church ; and I doubt not by the Industry of a faithful Clergyman in Elizabeth Town a considerable part of the Presbyterian meeting in that place might be gained over to the Church.t
On the 11th of December, 1749, the church purchased of Capt. John Emott, (the step-son of Mr. Vaughan, and the son- in-law of Mr. Elias Boudinot, senr.), for £162, the present par- sonage lot, of about four acres, with the old dwelling house built, in 1696-7, by Andrew Hampton. The Wardens, at. this time, were John Halsted and Henry Garthwait ; and the Vestrymen were William Ricketts, Jacob DeHart, Peter Trembly, Matthias De Hart, Jonathan Hampton, and Mat- thias Williamson.
During the same year, the Rev. Mr. Wood, " bred to Physick and Surgery," was appointed missionary to New Brunswick, with instructions to spend a Sunday or two every month at Elizabeth Town. At the close of May, 1750, he had made two visits only to the town, his duty at New Bruns- wick permitting him to officiate here only on every fourth · Sunday.
The most urgent representations were made to the Society for a resident Rector-one who could give them his whole
* Brit. Magazine, XXVII. 19. Clark's St. John's, p. 59.
t Clark, pp. 60, 2, 8, 6.
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time; and, in response, Mr. Chandler was appointed, in 1750, to be their missionary at Elizabeth Town, if, upon his arrival in England, he shall be found worthy to be ordained a deacon and priest. Among the considerations urged was the fact that " the Dissenters in this town have five Minis- ters settled, constantly to officiate in publick, to visit them in private, ready to serve on any particular occasion, and in a word that are always with and among them." These five Presbyterians were Messrs. Spencer, of the First Chh., Symmes, of New Providence and Springfield, Grant, of Westfield, Thane, of Ct. Farms, and Richards, of Rahway.
In the summer of 1751, Mr. Chandler repaired to England, was admitted to the priesthood by Dr. Thomas Sherlock, Bishop of London, and, early in September, sailed again for America, arriving, at home, after a passage of nine weeks, about the first of November. His salary or stipend was fixed at £30. sterling from the Society, and £60. N. J. currency, (valued at little more than £30. sterling) with a house and glebe, from the people. The communicants had increased from forty to sixty.
His first official act, after his return, was the baptism, Nov. 3d, of Matthias, the son of Matthias Williamson and Susan- nah Halstead. His first marriage-service was on the 10th, and the parties were Robert Milbourn and Mary, daughter of Elias Thomas, both of E. Town. In the course of the fol- lowing year, 1752, he was himself married to Jane, the daughter of Capt. John Emott, and Mary, the daughter of Elias Boudinot, senr.
At the close of 1754, the congregation included 85 families, and the communicants numbered ninety. But the pecuniary strength of the parish had decreased. Of the £60 engaged by subscription £28 had dropt by deaths and removals ; most of the principal parishioners had died or moved off, and the greater part were poor, many of them being "the proper objects of every kind of charity." The missionary was in straits, provisions of all kinds being as dear in this town as in the most populous citie's of the land-meat of all sorts being actually dearer here than in the N. York market. On
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these accounts he sought an increase of stipend from the Society. It is probable that his request was granted.
In 1757, during the prevalence of the small-pox, of which President Edwards, and his daughter, Mrs. Burr, died in the spring of 1758, Mr. Chandler was prostrated by the terrible scourge, and did not recover from its ill effects for nearly three years, his face retaining its foot-prints to the end of life. In addition to his labors here as parish-priest, he per- formed a large amount of missionary labor, in visiting and officiating in the remote parts of the town back of the moun- tains, and in the town of Woodbridge. His ministrations at the latter place, at the commencement of the year 1762, had required of him more than 3000 miles of travel and nearly 200 sermons, for all which he had received of them in gratui- ties not more than five guineas.
Mr. Chandler complains, about this time, of "that general harmony and good understanding which " subsisted " between ye Church and the Dissenters ;" the latter seeming to think " that no material advantage " was "to be had by conform- ing to ye Church," and the former being disposed " to return ye compliment in their opinion of ye Dissenters." He feared that
Possibly in time we may come to think that ye unity of Christ's body is a chimerical doctrine-that Schism is an Ecclesiastical Scarecrow- and that Episcopal is no better than ye leathern mitten ordination.
As Mr. Chandler had been bred an Independent, and had become in early youth a convert to Episcopacy, it was natural for him to magnify the importance of the Episcopal peculiari- ties. With all the zeal, therefore of a proselyte, he sought to widen, rather than to narrow, the breach between "the Church " and " the Meeting," as it was customary, then and long after, till within a few years, to call the two denomina- tions of Christian people into which the town was mainly divided. This object he sought to promote, principally by the circulation of controversial Tracts, copies of which he desired might be sent him from abroad. But, this supply being precarious, his own pen was presently called into re- quisition.
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As Gov. Belcher had granted a Charter to the Presbyterian church, so, on the accession of Gov. Josiah Hardy, Oct. 29, 1761, application was made, by the Rector, Church Wardens and vestry of St. John's church, for a similar favor, which, as a matter of course, was received with favor, and a Charter of Incorporation was granted, bearing date, July 20, 1762. It appoints "John Halsted and Jacob De Hart to be the first and Present Church Wardens of the said Church and Henry Garthwait, Jonathan Hampton, Amos Morss, Ephraim Terrill, Matthias Williamson, John De Hart, John Ogden, Cavalier Jouet and John Chetwood to be the first and Present Vestry- men of said Church."
The only changes made in these names for the next fifteen years were in the substitution, from time to time, of John Herriman, Edward Thomas, and George Ross, for Cavalier Jouet and John De Hart, the latter serving as Secretary.
Reference has already been made to the visit of the Rev. George Whitefield to this town, in November 1763, and the refusal of Mr. Chandler to grant him the use of his pulpit. Popular as Mr. Whitefield was among all classes, a division was thereby created in the parish, and a great part of the people were much offended. The number of communicants was reduced to about seventy-five, of whom seldom more than fifty could be got together at any time. The revival of religion which prevailed in the town during 1764, also, tended to embarrass Mr. Chandler in his ministrations, op- posed as he was to every thing of the kind. In February, 1765, he writes as one somewhat depressed, and says,-
Altho' some few persons, none of whom are of any influence have been seduced from ye Church in ye year past, by those acts mentioned in my Letter of July 5th, and notwithstanding that several Families of my Con- gregation have moved to other parts of the Province I have still under my care 97 Families who profess themselves of ye Church and whom I believe in general to be as good Christians as their Neighbors whatever may be pretended-
Matters began to wear a more hopeful appearance at the close of the next half year. The services of the church were better attended-never more so, and an enlargement of the
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parsonage was provided for by a generous subscription. The addition, then made, consisted of that part of the present building used as a Study, Dining Room, &c.
At the commencement, however, of the following year, Mr. Chandler was constrained, in consequence of the Stamp Act agitation then at its height, to feel and say, that " the duty of a Missionary [Episcopal, of course] in this Country is now become more difficult than ever." While deprecating the continuance of the policy of the government, he still pro- fessed his fixed resolution to abide by the cause of Parliament rather than of the people-a resolution from which he never swerved. In 1766, the University of Oxford conferred on him, at the solicitation of Rev. Dr. Johnson, of New York, the Degree of Doctor of Divinity .*
Thus far Dr. Chandler had published nothing. The struggle in reference to an American Episcopate was now in progress, and exciting deep interest. Several pamphlets had already appeared on both sides, from the pens of Mr. Apthorp, and Drs. Johnson and Caner, for, and of Dr. Mayhew, against, the project. At the solicitation of Dr. Johnson, whose infirmities would not allow of his undertaking the work himself, and by appointment of the Clergy of New York and New Jersey, met in convention at Shrewsbury, Oct. 1, 1767, Dr. Chandler (stimulated thereto, doubtless, by the Anti-Episcopal Con- vention at E. Town, in November), prepared, and published at New York, in June, 1767, an
Appeal to the Public in behalf of the Church of England in America : Wherein the Original and Nature of the Episcopal Office are briefly con- sidered, Reasons for sending Bishops to America are assigned, The Plan on which it is proposed to send them is stated, and the Objections against sending them are obviated and confuted. With an Appendix, giving a brief account of an Anonymous Pamphlet. pp. 118.
The Rev. Dr. Charles Chauncy, of Boston, Mass., responded, 1768, in a pamphlet entitled-"The Appeal to the Public answered, In Behalf of the Non-Episcopal Churches in America, containing Remarks on what Dr Thomas Bradbury Chandler has advanced," &c. ; pp. 206. Soon after Dr Chand-
* N. Y. Col. Docmts., VII. 897, 517, 8, 537, 566, 592. Chandler's Johnson, pp. 192-S.
.
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ler published "The Appeal Defended, or The proposed American Episcopate Vindicated, In answer to the Objec- tions and Misrepresentations of Dr Chauncy and others." This drew forth a rejoinder from Dr Chauncy, Jan., 1770, with the title,-" Reply to Dr. T. B. Chandler's Appeal defended;" which was answered by Dr. Chandler in 1771; in a pamphlet of 240 pages, entitled,-"The Appeal farther Defended, in Answer to the further Misrepresentations of Dr. Chauncy." *
Notwithstanding this pamphlet controversy, Dr. Chandler continued in the regular discharge of his parochial duties, occasionally going forth on missionary tours, and once, Nov., 1769, far up into Sussex Co., then almost the outer edge of civilization. In July, 1770, he refers to the fact, that "the Dissenters of late have become more friendly in appearance than ever," sometimes exceeding in number, in their attend. ance, on special occasions, his own people. In the course of the two or three following years, the congregation had so much increased, as to determine the people to enlarge the capacity of the church edifice. But, in 1774, it was resolved to rebuild entirely ; the foundations of a new building, 85 by 50 ft., were laid around the old building ; materials were collected, and money subscribed to defray the expense. But the first shock of war put an end to the work, not to be re- sumed by that generation.
Dr Chandler (says Dr. Rudd) found his situation painful and unpleas- ant, as well from the active part which he deemed it his duty to take, as from the violent feeling generally entertained against the church of which he was a minister. These considerations induced him to leave the colo- nies and go to England.t
Just before his departure he received a letter from John Pownall, Under-Secretary of State, bearing date, April 5, 1775, as follows :-
I am directed by the Earl of Dartmouth to acquaint you that His Majesty has been graciously pleased from a consideration of your merit &
* Chandler's Johnson, pp. 114-6. Sprague's Annals, V. 139, 140. Sedgwick's Livingston, pp. 181-146. Chh. Review, IV. 571. Clark's St. John's Chh. pp. 117-138.
t Hist. Notices of St. John's Chh., pp. 15, 16.
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY. 545
services to signify His Commands to the Lords Commissioners of the Treâry that they do make and allowance to you out of such Funds as their Lordships shall think proper of two hundred Pounds per annum, the said allowance to commence from the first of January last .*
Dr. Chandler continued to officiate here until the middle of May, 1775, when, probably alarmed by the sacking of the house of his friend, Dr. Myles Cooper, at N. York, on the night of the 10th of May, he found refuge, with him, on the Kingfisher, Capt. James Montague, a British ship of war, in the harbor of N. York. On the 24th of May, in company with Dr. Cooper and the Rev. Samuel Cook, he sailed in the Exeter, for Bristol, Eng.t
The church were left without a supply for the pulpit, and, as the combat thickened, were greatly scattered, more espe- cially after the Declaration of Independence. Public wor- ship was at length suspended, and the church-edifice unoc- cupied on the Sabbath. As houses were needed for hospitals and barracks, resort was had occasionally to the churches. The fences were used for fuel, nor was the church-yard spared. St. John's suffered most, as it was not used on the Sabbath. Nearly all the wood-work of the interior was destroyed, " and two attempts to burn the building by putting fire under the pulpit were providentially defeated. .. About the year 1779 or 1780, the congregation began to assemble in a private house " for public worship on the Sabbath.t
The Easter elections were resumed in 1778, no record previously occurring for four years, John De Hart, Stephen Burrows, and Wm. Williamson, taking the places of Jonathan Hampton, (who had died in 1777, a refugee), Jacob De Hart, and Henry Garthwait. Jeremiah Garthwait is named as sexton. In 1779, the election was held " at the church." It is probable, that from this time, or perhaps carlier, worship was resumed there.
An impostor obtained possession of the pulpit for a season -" an artful man, who pretended to hold the sacred office, and for a time acted as a clergyman here." He " was soon
* N. Y. Col. Documts., VIII. 569. + Pa. Journal, of May 31, 1775.
# Dr. Rudd's Discourse, pp. 18, 19.
35
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after exposed, and fled from the odium which he had brought upon himself, and the punishment which his offence de- served." *
Soon after, the church obtained the occasional services of the Rev. Uzal Ogden, of Newark. His father, Uzal, was the grandson of the first David Ogden; a brother, also, of Judge John, the father of Mrs. Caldwell.+
After the destruction of the Presbyterian church, in Jan- uary, 1780, many, who had been accustomed to worship there, resorted to the Episcopal church, especially when Mr. Ogden, Mrs. Caldwell's cousin, was to preach. So evangelical and impressive were his discourses, that he became quite a favorite with the Presbyterians, who, after Mr. Caldwell's death, were, for several years, without both a pastor and a church-edifice. A powerful revival of religion prevailed in that congregation, in 1784-5, promoted, in a good degree, by the preaching of Mr. Ogden in the Episcopal church.}
Mr. Ogden was chosen, June 8, 1784, one of the Assistant Ministers of Trinity Church, N. York, with a salary of £500 a year ; with leave of absence for two thirds of the year for four years, and to receive one third of the salary. The re- maining portion of the year, he preached here and at New- ark, with an occasional visit to Sussex Co.
This arrangement continued to the close of 1787 ; was re- newed in 1788, and terminated in the spring of 1789. Dur ing the latter part of this period, in 1788, he had become the Rector of Trinity Church, Newark, serving them one half of the time, and receiving from St. John's, for the other half, the sum of £120, his residence being at Newark. In 1786-7, the Church and steeple were put in a state of repair, and the seats rented for revenue. In April 1789, the Rev. Samuel Spraggs, of Mount Holly, N. J., was invited to become the "resident minister, ... constantly to officiate" in this church. §
Dr. Chandler remained in exile the full period of ten years
* Dr. Rudd's Discourse, p. 19. t Newark Bicentennial, p. 149.
# Sprague's Annals, V. 368.
§ Vestry-Book. Berrian's Trinity Chh., N. Y., pp. 168-170,
.
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-a pensioner upon the royal bounty,-his family continuing to occupy the rectory as before, through all the gloomy pe- riod of the war. The government at home gladly availed themselves of his long experience in American affairs, and often sought of him information and advice. Says Prof. Mc Vickar,-
From a manuscript journal kept by Dr. Chandler during his absence, and now [1836] in the possession of the author, we find him still laboring for those whom he had left ; raising funds for his destitute brethren ; urging upon the government plans of conciliation, and upon the bishops with whom he seems to have lived in habits of intimate friendship, the completion of his long-cherished plan of an American Episcopate." *
.
Dr. Berrian affirms, that
He was received with such a marked and universal respect into the so- ciety of the most distinguished persons as has very rarely been rendered to any one from our country in private life.t
In the State Paper Office at London, is preserved a " Pe- tition of Thomas Bradbury Chandler, D.D., Rector of St. John's Church, Elizabeth Town, New Jersey, and others, to the King, supposed to have been presented early in 1777, to the effect, ' that, in consideration of their eminent services to his Majesty, and that, having, at considerable expense, dis- covered a tract of land on the waters of the Ohio, in the Province of Canada, the settlement of which must soon take place,' they pray his Majesty to grant them a mandamus for 100,000 acres of land in the said spot." #
He continued to cherish, almost to the last, the expectation of the restoration of the royal authority in America. As late as Dec. 3, 1781, he wrote, from London, to the Rev. Abra- ham Beach, of New-Brunswick, N. J.,-
The late blow in Virginia [Cornwallis' Surrender] has given us a shock, but has not overset us. Though the clouds at present are rather thick about us, I am far, very far, from desponding. I think matters will take a right turn and then the event will be right. §
About the year 1780, a small scab on his nose, a relic of
៛ Professional Years of Hobart, p. 22.
# Analytical Index of N. J. Docmts., p. 455.
t Berrian's Hobart, p. 73.
§ Clark, p. 200.
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the small pox of 1757, developed in the form of a cancer, and gave him much concern. Every expedient for a cure proved unavailing. He spent a summer on the Isle of Wight, living mostly on goat's milk ; but without the hoped-for benefit .*
In May, 1783, after the proclamation of Peace, several of the Episcopal clergy of New York and Connecticut, Drs. Leaming, Inglis and Moore, with others, wrote, by the Rev. Dr. Seabury, (on his way to obtain the Episcopate), to the Archbishop of York, a letter of commendation, in which they say,-
We take this opportunity to inform your Grace, that we have consulted ' his excellency Sir Guy Carleton on the subject of procuring the appoint- ment of a Bishop for the province of Nova-Scotia, on which he has ex- pressed to us his entire approbation, and has written to administration, warmly recommending the measure. We took the liberty, at the same time, of mentioning our worthy brother, the Rev. Doctor Thomas B. Chandler, to his excellency, as a person every way qualified to discharge the duties of the Episcopal office in that province, with dignity and hon- our. And we hope for your Grace's approbation of what we have done in that matter, and for the concurrence of your influence with Sir Guy Carleton's recommendation in promoting the design. We should have given this information sooner to your Grace, but that we waited for Doc- tor Seabury's departure for England. +
Writing from London, Sept. 3, 1783, Dr. Seabury says,-
Dr. Chandler's appointment to Nova Scotia, will, I believe succeed. And possibly he may go thither this autumn, or at least early in the spring. But his success will do no good in the States of America. His hands will be as much tied as the Bishops in England ; and I think he will run no risks to communicate the Episcopal powers.
Again, writing, respecting the Archbishop of Canterbury, from London, May 3, 1784, he says,-
Dr. Chandler has been with him to-day on the subject of the Nova Scotia Episcopate, which, I believe, will be effected.t
It was estimated, that not less than 30,000 refugee royal- ists had removed from the States to Nova Scotia, many of whom were from New York and its vicinity. Hence the zeal to provide an Episcopate for their benefit, as very few
* Sprague, V. 140.
t Churchman's Magazine, 1st Ser., III. 115, 157, 194.
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of them pertained to any other body than the Church of Eng- land. It is evident, that Dr. Chandler was pleased with his nomination to the bishopric, and that he sought to procure the appointment. It was this that kept him abroad, more than two years after the treaty of peace, though earnestly en- treated by his people, in 1783, to return and resume the duties of his rectorship .* .
In a letter, written at London, April 23, 1785, to Bishop John Skinner, of Longside, Aberdeen, Scotland, he makes the following statements :--
You may, perhaps, have heard, that after having been separated eight years from my family, which I left in New Jersey, I have been detained here two years longer, with the prospect of being appointed to the super- intendency of the Church in our new country. This business, though the call for it is most urgent, is still postponed ; and it appears to be in no greater forwardness now than it did a year ago. In the meanwhile, I am labouring under a scorbutic, corrosive disorder, which renders a sea voyage and change of climate immediately necessary. I therefore thought proper to wait upon the Archbishop [Moore] a day or two ago, to resign my pre- tensions to the Nova Scotia Episcopate, that I might be at liberty to cross the Atlantic and visit my family, consisting now of a most excellent wife and three amiable daughters. His Grace would not hear of my giving up my claim to the above-mentioned appointment, but readily consented to my visiting my family, on condition that I would hold myself in readiness to undertake the important charge whenever I might be called for, which I promised, in case my health should admit of it. Accordingly I have engaged a passage in a ship [the Greyhound, Capt. Dunn] bound to Nen- York, which is obliged to sail by this day fortnight.t
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