USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Jersey City > History of Jersey City, N.J. : a record of its early settlement and corporate progress, sketches of the towns and cities that were absorbed in the growth of the present municipality, its business, finance, manufactures and form of government, with some notice of the men who built the city > Part 43
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The Sunday-school was organized in February, 1858. The superintendents have been: A. S. Hatch, Charles H. Johnson, Peter Hasbrouck, George W. Clerihew and C. C. Stimets. The work of a large congregation was more than one man could do, and several years ago Rev. J. Lester Wells was called as assistant pastor. Then a movement was inaugurated to make the church a centre of social life, in order to attract a new element that had come to live in the vicinity of the church, as the more-well-to-do moved westward to the heights. First a reading- room and gymnasium was erected, and as the movement grew several buildings fronting on Grand Street were purchased, and the People's Palace became one of the institutions of the city. It is a gymnasium, a reading-room, a library, a day-nursery, an employment burean and many other things combined. Among its features is a large swimming bath, which is kept busy by the boys of the vicinity during the summer. There are debating societies, Chautauqua circles, university extension courses, an orchestra, a brass band and a drum and fife corps, a boys' brigade, with uniforms and regular military drills, sewing and cooking schools, with in- structions in dressmaking, housekeeping and typewriting. There are lecture courses, popular entertainments, and refreshments are sold on the premises. The place is a hive of industry from the bowling alley up, and practical help, education and amusements are afforded free, or at a nominal cost, for humanity, from the nursing infant to the mature person. The whole is con- ducted on a christian and philanthropic basis, and tills a unique place in the social life of the downtown section of the city.
The present officers of the church are: George Ware, clerk ; Messrs. Ingersoll and Higginbotham, deacons; George Krouse, treasurer ; music committee, John C. Gillies, W. H. Turner and H. C. Wall ; John C. Parsons, M. D., superintendent of the Sunday-school ; Theo. L. Parker, W. J. Hunt and Charles Ilill, assistants ; larry McGown, secretary, and Frank Lawrence and Louis Dougherty, assistants ; Sidney Gould, treasurer, and R. J. Dale, assistant.
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. This church is an offshoot from the Bergen Pres- byterian Church. In the spring of 1865 the Session of the Bergen church was requested by the Third Presbytery of New York to take charge of organizing a church in Hudson City. No action was taken under the commission until the spring of 1869, when prayer meetings were held in a building on Newark Avenue. On June 15th a meeting was held at the residence of Mr. Hull. . Nothing was accomplished ; but at the next meeting, held at the house of Samuel Tooker on June 28th, it was decided to organize a church. Those present were : Rev. Edward W. French, Walter Storm, Samuel Tooker, James Dunn and Alexander Bonnell, of the Session ยท of the Bergen church : Messrs. James Martin, Nathaniel Tooker, John Gordon, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Comings, members of the Bergen church, and Messrs. C. C. Jewell and R. T. Rodgers. Dr. French appointed C. Comings, S. Tooker and C. C. Jewell as a committee to secure a meet-
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ing place. They made an arrangement with the Summit Avenue Baptist Church, by which services were held there on Sunday afternoons. and Dr. French preached to congregations vary- ing from seventy-five to one hundred and twenty until the end of July, when other ministers aided until May 1, 1870, when services were suspended. On October 21, 1870, a meeting was held at the house of James Dunn to revive the church. A few days later four lots on Prospect Avenne were purchased as a site for a church. On November 8th, Henry Dusenberry, John Gordon, C. C. Jewell, G. P. Howell and Robert Wells were elected trustees. They hired a build- ing on Newark Avenue, near Chestnut Avenue, and had it fitted for service. It was opened on December 11, 1870, and the Sunday-school, opened the same day, had thirty pupils and twelve teachers. In the meantime, work was carried on at the new chapel, and it was opened for ser- vice May 14, 1871. The pulpit was supplied by Dr. French and other clergymen until October 1, 1871, when Rev. John S. Glendenning was installed as pastor-elect. He remained until De- cember 8, 1874. He was succeeded by Rev. O. B. Bidwell, who served until January, 1879. During his pastorate the name of the church was changed from Prospect Avenue Presbyterian to Westminster. Rev. I. W. Hathaway was called March 1, 1879. In February, 1887. the new church, corner of Summit and Magnolia avenues, was finished and occupied. The church
building covers a plot one hundred feet square, and is a handsome, comfortable honse of worship. During Pastor Hathaway's minis- tration the church has prospered in every way, and it is now one of the principal churches in the city.
THE CLAREMONT PRES- BVTERIAN CHURCH. The Claremont Presbyterian Church owes its origin to the efforts of the Mission- ary Association of the Sab- bath-school of the First Presbyterian Church of Bergen, at the time under the pastoral care of Rev. E. W. French, D. D.
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
In the latter part of the year 1867 the subject of missionary work in this section was agitated. Early in 1868 various meetings were held in Claremont under the auspices of this association. On the first Sunday in February, 1868. a Sabbath-school was gathered, consisting of thirty-two pupils and twenty-four teachers. It was held in the school-house on Columbia Street (now Ege Avenne), near Occan Avenue.
On May 11, 1868, a plot of ground, 240 by 100 feet, bounded by Ocean and Claremont avenues and Clerk Street, was purchased for $6,500, and the contract for building the present edifice was soon thereafter entered into for $8,300. Ground was broken for its erection on July 15, 1869. The corner-stone was laid Angust 3, 1869. The dimensions of the building were 30 feet by 75 feet. A fair was held in the incompleted structure on December 15, 16 and 17, 1869, from which the gross receipts were $1, 115. The opening services were held on Thursday evening, December 30, 1869, and regular services were inaugurated on the morning and evening of January 2, 1870.
Application was made to the Third Presbytery of New York on February 7. 1870, for the organization of a church. In response to this application, on the 15th of February, 1870, the following twenty-five persons were by a commission of the Presbytery constituted The Claire- mont Presbyterian Church : Harriet A. Bidwell, Florene A. Bidwell, Harriet . Bidwell, Nancy J. Bidwell, William Crawford, Mary H. Crawford, James Crawford, Mary C. Crawford, Chris-
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tina H. Crawford, William Cross, Elizabeth Cross, Edward G. Dickson, Mary L. Dickson, John H. Fisher, Andrew Jordan, Eliza C. Jordan, Harriet P. Kernaghan, James K. King, Edward Oliver, Helen M. Oliver, John H. Simonson, Jennie A. Simonson, Joseph Thornton, Eliza H. Thornton, Eletheir W. Wilson.
Twelve of these presented letters from the First Presbyterian Church of Bergen. At the same time one elder and one deacon were ordained. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was first administered to the church, Sabbath morning, March 27, 1870.
The church property cost $19,000. The following is a list of the pastors who have served the church, together with their terms of office ; Rev. Samuel W. Duffield, May 31, 1870-July 31, 1871; Rev. Joseph NcNulty, January 2, 1872-July 7, 1873; Rev. John P. Hale, October 1 3, 1874-July 30, 1880 ; Rev. Adolos Allen, June 23, 1881-April 23, 1884 ; Rev. Henry T. Ford, October 28, 1884-February, 1887 ; Rev. George R. Garretson, September 29, 1887.
The following have served as elders: Edward Oliver, William Crawford, Robert Lee, Charles Gulager, James K. King, James Crawford, William Cross, John Marc Martin, John L. Noyes, Edward G. Dickson, William McComb, Peter Vreeland, John L. Brown, H. B. Claflin. Those now present and acting are : James McIlhiney, William A. Gregory and George Morton.
The deacons have been : William Crawford, William Cross, Rufus A. Hackett, James Mc- Ilhiney, John H. Fisher, Wm. M. Jackson, Ralph Robinson and Gilbert C. Arrowsmith.
There are two present and acting deaconesses, Mrs. Anna M. Daniels and Mrs. Fannie E. McKaig.
During these years a total of 365 names have been placed upon the roll of membership in full communion. Of these, 115 have been added during the present pastorate. At the same time almost as many have been dismissed, or are no longer resident here. The present mem- bership is 166.
JOHN KNOX CHURCH. On October 29, 1889, Rev. David Mitchell, of the Scotch Church, organized a Sunday-school mission in an old building owned by MIrs. Dingwall on Woodward Street. Rev. Thomas Houston, a student at the Union Theological Seminary, was placed in charge, and there were six teachers and twenty-five scholars. For six months services were held in Mrs. Dingwall's house, with Sabbath afternoon service and weekly prayer meetings. The services drew quite a congregation. George R. Mckenzie, of the Scotch Church, at his own expense built the church which now stands on the corner of Grand Street and Manning Avenue at a cost of $10,000, and presented it to the members of the Scotch Church Mission. It was opened and dedicated April 29, 1890. In May the connection with the Scotch Church was dissolved, and the new organization was called the John Knox Presbyterian Church. On June 7, 1891, Rev. Thomas Houston was ordained and installed. The congregation now nutn- bers 150 communicants, a large Sunday-school and numerous societies carrying on practical christian work.
SUMMIT AVENUE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. In April, 1880, Rev. Arney S. Biddle, pastor of the First United Presbyterian Church of Jersey City, not having any evening service in his own church, rented, at his own expense, the little hall on the northeast corner of Fair- mount and Bergen avenues for preaching at night. The room was in a mansard roof of a building, the first story of which was a barber shop, the second story a gun club, and the third a temperance society. The mission was successful from the beginning, and was organized into a congregation May 2, 1882, with twenty communicants, as follows : Elders-Hamilton McCaw, James Heggans, Sr., and Thomas Stewart. Trustces-Kenneth Dingwall, president ; H. F. Burlew, secretary ; Thomas Gallagher, treasurer ; James Heggans, Sr., Thomas Stewart, Hamilton McCaw, and Robert G. Booth. The other charter members were : Mrs. Maria Ding- wall, Mrs. Sarah Heggans, Albert Scott, Mrs. Ellen Scott, Mrs. Amanda Stewart, Mrs. Ada Gallagher, James A. Booth, Mrs. Mary J. Booth, Mrs. Eliza J. McCaw, Miss Jane F. McCaw, Joseph MeComb, Jr., Mrs. Anna McComb and Mrs. Samantha Burlew. Mr. and Mrs. Burlew, and Mr. and Mrs. Stewart removed from the bounds of the congregation within a few weeks, so that the success or failure of the work rested with the remaining sixteen. Rev. Arney S. Biddle having resigned the pastorate of the First Church, was installed pastor of the new organization in August, 1882. Three lots were obtained on Summit Avenue near Montgomery Street; Mr. Kenneth Dingwall advanced a considerable part of the pur-
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chase money, and without his financial help and energy but little could have been done. The congregation erected a neat, plain building. The cost of the ground, building and furni- ture was $9,600, of which the Board of Church Extension contributed $2,000, and the congrega- tion the remainder.
The first communion was held February, 1883, in the lecture room, as the auditorium was not yet completed. This communion was remarkable in that it doubled the membership of the congregation, and greatly increased the financial resources of the church. The character and social standing of the new members were excellent, and of them, Mr. G. W. Leifried, now deceased, became afterwards a member of Session, superintendent of the Sabbath-school, presi- dent of the board of trustees, besides filling important offices in the church at large, and whose
financial and moral support did much to give success to the new enterprise.
The congregation soon became self-sustaining and free from debt. The sta- tisties for June, 1894, are as follows : 210 members, 229 Sabbath-school schol- ars, $256 contributed to missions, and $2,712 con- tributed for all purposes during the year.
THE SECOND UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGA- TION was organized April 12, 1871. Its original home was No. 68 Bowers Street. There were fifty-eight charter members, fifteen of whom are still in this congregation. The first elders elected were Samuel Martin and James Henry.
The former has fallen asleep; the latter still serves.
Rev. Robert Armstrong, D. D., began the work in this field. He was install- ed as pastor January 10, 1872, and continued in this relation until called from labor to reward, April 2, SECOND U. P. CHURCH. 1892. Their present commodious church home was erected in 1873. Their present pastor, Rev. James Parker, began his labors December 25, 1892. The present officers include five elders and seven trustees. The congregation now numbers 250 communicants. The Sabbath school has 335 members, including 30 officers and teachers; the young people's meeting, no ; the ladie's missionary society, 30.
THE METHODIST CHURCHES.
The first attempt to establish a Methodist church in Jersey City. was made in Ist Ros John Robertson was assigned to preach in Bergen. It was a missionary charge, and MrVRes were held in private houses. The succession of missionaries was : Daniel Fidler, IN: 1 ;. Joseph Totten, 1813-'14; Stephen Martindale, 1814-'15 ; David Best, 1815-10; John I'ndev. 1816-'17 ; Peter Van Ness, 1817-'18; Joseph Sybrand, 1818-'19; John Potts, 1810-20 ; frente
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Banghart, 1820-'22 ; Manning Force, 1822-'23 ; Benjamin Collins, 1823-'24 ; Bartholomew Weed, 1824-'26; David W. Bartine, 1826-'27. At this date these appointments ceased and a Methodist society was incorporated in the school-house at Five Corners as the Bergen Mission. These trustees were elected January 20, 1826: Anthony Cathlin, Archer G. Welsh, Hiram L. Meeker, James J. Seaman and Josiah Hornblower. This organization failed, but was revived and gave birth to the Simpson Church.
TRINITY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. This church, known at present as Old Trinity, was . organized in 1835. The first building was a frame structure raised on piling above the surround- ing marsh on the site now occupied by the brick edifice on York Street between Warren and Washington. The small frame building was used until the congregation was able to erect a more substantial house of worship. The corner-stone of the present church was laid May 5, 1843, and the building was dedicated December 25th, the same year. The lecture-room was renovated in 1869, and improvements were made in 1881-82 that cost $4,000. The church was recently re-decorated and is as good as new. The list of pastors who have served in this church embraces the names of many of the most prominent Methodist divines. The church property, including the parsonage, is valued at $35,500.
3
SIMPSON M. F. CHURCH.
SIMPSON METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. There is a tradition that the little band of Methodists who organized Simpson Church began to hold prayer meetings in various places as early as 1801, but no authentic record of their work has been found until they held prayer meet- ings in the district school-house at Five Corners in 1839. Dr. Josiah Hornblower built a small frame chapel for them at No. u Cook Street, where they were known as the Bergen Mission, and services were held by the pastors of Oid Trinity in York Street. In 1843 a church build- ing was begun on Oakland Avenue, between Newark and Hoboken avenues. It was finished in 1844. The title of the church was then changed to the North Bergen M. E. Church. In 1856 the congregation outgrew the building, and the present edifice was built on Central Avenue near St. Paul's Avenue. The old church became the town hall of Hudson City, and the site is now occupied by the Third Precinct Police Station House. When the new stone church was dedicated in 185; the name was changed to the Simpson M. E. Church. The building was enlarged in 1878 There have been twenty nine pastors, the incumbent being Rev. D. Halleron.
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HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
THE LINDEN AVENUE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, formerly known as the Greenville Church, has a history antedating many of the older and most prosperous churches of that denom- ination in Jersey City. It was organized in 1844, under the labors of the Rev. George Thomas, a local preacher of considerable local fame. Previous to that time, elass-meetings had been held in Bro. Martin Van Pelt's, and in several other private houses, by the Methodists of the vicinity ; but at length a more permanent organization was deemed advisable, which resulted in the above organization. Meetings were at first held in the old school-house on Bergen Road, but under the enthusiastic lead of "Father " Thomas the infant church grew so rapidly that in the following year, 1845, the Rev. David Graves was assigned as pastor. It then formed part of the Hudson City circuit, which included Communipaw and Centreville. Its first board of trustees consisted of : Geo. Thomas, president ; Martin Van Pelt, secretary and treasurer ; Abra- ham Simmons, John Wauters, Thomas Anderson, Garret G. Vreeland and Wm. Ellsworth.
The first church was built on what was then known as Georges Lane, now Linden Avenue, with an entrance from Bergen Road, and with no houses near it. Although difficult of access. its services were well attended. It was a commodious brick structure, and cost about $3,000. It could not be replaced in these days for four times that sum.
The list of pastors that served the church contains names honored in the annals of the Newark Conference. The church was blessed with revivals under the ministry of the Revs. Waters Burrows, David Walters, A. E. Comp- ton, A. M. Palmer and T. H. Runyon. In the winter of 1860 a remarkable revival oc- curred, which took place while the pastor, Rev. T. E. Gordon, was absent from the field on account of sickness. During the pastorate of Rev. A. E. Compton, a parsonage was built costing about $1,500.
The history of the church continued with varying fortunes until 1887, when, during the ministry of Rev. W. E. Blakeslee, a move- ment was started looking toward the erec- tion of a new church edifiee. A meeting was held on Sunday, January 9, 1887, and over eleven thousand dollars was subscribed for the enterprise. No further steps were taken until the following year, when lots were purchased on the corner of Linden and Ocean LINDEN AVENUE M. E. CHURCH. avenues. The corner-stone was laid Sep- tember 20, 1888, by Bishop Fitzgerald. The church was dedicated Sunday, May 5, 1889, by Bishop Andrews. At the same time a commodious parsonage was erected.
The Newark Conference, at its last session, appointed Rev. Charles F. Hull pastor. The official board is as follows : Trustees-President, D. W. Hitchcock ; Secretary, Charles Burger : Treasurer, S. Waterbury; and A. B. McIntyre, Louis McIntyre, J. G. Miller, T. D. Riley, 11. L. Griffin, Jos. Hampton. Leaders and Stewards-A. A. Rapp, M. D. Vreeland, T. E. Ferrer, I. Krall, J. Justice, M. Cropper, Wn. H. Provost, Wm. Pitcher, Jos. Melntyre.
ST. PAUL'S METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. This church was organized as the Methodist Episcopal Church at Pavonia, before Van Vorst township was added to Jersey City. It is in. cated on its original site, Third Street between Grove and Eric. It was organized in July. 1848; the corner-stone was laid December 2. 1849; the basement was opened for service June 30, 1850, and the church was dedieated November 27, 1850. It was enlarged in isos, and agam in 1880. It is a large and flourishing church.
THE HEDDING METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH was organized March 20, 1835, and mvor. porated May roth ensuing. The church is on the north side of Montgomery Street between Grove and Barrow. The corner-stone was laid August 15, 1855 ; the lecture-room was ded:
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cated January 20, 1856, and the main auditorium on April 11, 1858. In 1878 the lecture room was improved and an infant Sunday-school room added. In 1879-80 the church was remodeled at a cost of $9,000. The church and parsonage are valued at $40,000. The congregation is the largest of the denomination in the city.
THE PALISADE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH Was organized May 26, 1858. The building is on the corner of New York Avenue and North Street.
EMORY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. This church grew out of a prayer meeting held in a frame building at what is now 59 Gardner Avenue, which had been a carpenter's shop. The church was organized in May, 1862. In 1863, through the aid of Edgar B. Wakeman, a plot of land was secured at the corner of Mill Road and Colden Place, now Ivy Place and Sum- mit Avenue. The brick building was far enough advanced in December, 1864, to allow the congregation to occupy the basement, and Rev. C. C. Winans became the pastor. The audience room was completed in the spring of 1865. Rev. J. I. Morrow was pastor from 1865 to 1866, when Rev. D. R. Lowrie succeeded him. He remained three years, and the building became too small for the congregation. In 1870 the present site on Belmont Avenue near Bergen was secured, and work begun on the building under the pastorate of Rev. John Atkinson, D. D. This building is intended to be used as the chapel and Sunday-school, and the coming church is to front on Bergen Avenue. The chapel was dedicated May 19, 1872, by Bishop Simpson. The ground and building cost $45,000. In July, 1872, the old church on Summit Avenue was sold to the Universalists. The pastors since then have been : Rev. S. B. Van Benschoten, Rev. J. B. Faulks, Rev. D. W. Bartine, Rev. P. G. Blight, Rev. R. Van Horne, Rev. J. M. Meeker, Rev. L. C. Muller and Rev. D. R. Lowrie. During the last few years the congregation has been growing too large for the building again, and it is probable that a new church will soon be erected.
LAFAYETTE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. In 1863 M. S. Allison, a shipbuilder, who had then recently settled in Lafayette, decided that a school was needed in that vicinity. He owned vacant property on Whiton Street, and made a contract with Samuel Cosgrove for the erection of a building 18 by 36 feet. Most of the lumber required was obtained by breaking up a large freight barge which had outlived its usefulness. The little building had a frontage of 18 feet on Whiton Street. Miss Byrnell taught school in it until the end of the term in 1868. Weekly prayer meetings were held in it on Sunday afternoons by Rev. D. R. Lowrie, then pastor of Emory M. E. Church, a brick structure at the corner of Ivy Place and Summit Avenue, now occupied as a Universalist church. In 1868 a Sunday-school was organized, with seventeen teachers and scholars. In 1868, during the Presidential campaign, the people of Lafayette de- cided to build a wigwam or meeting place. Mr. Allison offered the use of his land and a liberal donation on condition that the building should revert to the M. E. Society for a church after the political campaign closed. The offer was accepted, the little school-house was moved to the rear of the lot, with its side toward the street, and it formed an addition to the wigwam when it was built. After the election the building was altered for a church, and on February 28, 1869, it was dedicated. The property was then worth $9,000. Rev. D. R. Lowrie became pastor by his reappointment to the Emory M. E. Church, which included the Lafayette charge. In 1870 Rev. W. L. Hoagland was appointed preacher in charge of Lafayette M. E. Church, thus becoming first pastor of the independent charge. Rev. A. H. Tuttle succeeded him in 1872, Rev. C. S. Coit in 1875, Rev. E. W. Burr in 1878, and Rev. J. A. Monroe in 1881. Dur- ing his pastorate the old Communipaw M. E. Church was absorbed. This was a small con- gregation, incorporated April 14. 1553. The " Little White Church," on the south side of Communipaw Avenue, near the bay shore, was built in 1854, the dedication taking place Octo- ber 15th, that year. The only pastor the society had was Rev. T. C. Carman. After he ceased his connection, a few years later, the church was added to first one church, then another, as a mission charge. There were but nineteen members in 1882, when it was merged with the Lafayette Church. The present church edifice on Pacific Avenue, near Communipaw Avenue, was begun June 24, 1884. The corner-stone was laid on August 20th succeeding, and the church was dedicated May 3, 1885. The building committee was : M. H. Gillette, George R. Hillier, E. S. Allison, F. H. Spengeman, W. R. Wheeler and W. L. Hoagland. The new church cost about $40,000. The church was begun and completed under the pastorate of Rev. W. L. Hoagland,
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