USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume II > Part 5
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The present church is 40x60 feet, with three entrances on the longer side. The oak frame is covered with shingles, and the pulpit is on the north side, immediately opposite the central door, so that the preacher faces the width of the church instead of its length. The gallery is wide and lofty and will seat three hundred people. In former times one side of it was partitioned off for the colored people, but during the pastorate of Dr. Van Doren the partition was removed. The pews on the ground floor will seat five hundred, so that the capacity of the building is eight hundred. Instead of being plastered, the interior is ceiled with boards, the old communion table which has served for nearly one hundred and seventy years is still in use. The remains of the revered Tennent are buried under the floor of the central aisle, and in 1818 a marble slab was placed in the wall at the right of the pulpit with the following in- scription in gilt letters: "Sacred to the Memory of Rev. William Ten- nent, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Freehold, who departed this life March 8, 1777, aged 71 years and 6 months. He was Pastor of said Church 43 years and 9 months. Faithful and beloved. 1818."
The ancient burial-ground is no less historic and interesting than the building itself. In front of the church is the monument to Rev. Dr. Woodhull, the successor of Mr. Tennent; and a little further on is the grave of Dr. Gilbert Tennent, who died in his twenty-eighth year, a son of the pastor. At one corner of the church is buried Lieut. Col. Monckton, of the British army, killed in the battle on June 28, 1778. A large number of Revolutionary soldiers, many of whom were killed in the service and others who survived the war, are buried here, also num- bers of soldiers of the Wars of 1812-15 and 1861-65. Among the men of 1776-83 we find the names Anderson, Baird, Bowne, Campbell, Clay- ton, Combs, Conover, Covenhoven, Cowart, Dey, Emmons, Edwards, Forman, Gordon, Herbert, Henderson, Johnson, Laird, Leonard, Lloyd,
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McKnight, McDermott, Mount, Newell, Perrine, Rue, Schenck, Smith, Sutphen, Thompson, VanDerveer, Wilson, Woodhull and Wyekoff.
Englishtown borough is the principal town of Manalapan township, and is located in the northern part thereof, a short distance from the Freehold & Jamesburg (Pennsylvania) railroad, on which it is a sta- tion. The village under the same name existed during the Revolution and was a halting-place of the American army on its way to the battle- field of Monmouth in 1778. On the night of June 29th (the day fol- lowing the battle) General Washington passed the night in an old tavern standing on the site where John Laird afterwards lived. The town de- rived its name from James English, the original proprietor of the sur- rounding land. His son, Dr. James English, Jr., practiced here, as did also Drs. Daniel Polhemus, William DeBow and others. Dr. Ashur T. Applegate, the present mayor, born in Monroe township, Middlesex county, and educated in Princeton University and the University of Penn- sylvania, located here in 1871, and is still in active practice. The early merchants were Isaiah Disbrough, David and Daniel H. Laird, Nathaniel S. Rue, George W. Sutphin and others. The miller of the early days was Jacob Keeler, who was succeeded by Charles Van Cleef and William Parker. John S. McChesney was the first postmaster, and was appoint- ed when the postoffice was established February 6, 1818.
The Englishtown Presbyterian Church was organized as a branch of the old Tennent Church in 1860; a church edifice was built in that year to accommodate the members living in the vicinity of Englishtown. On petition of its members in 1874, the connection with the mother church was severed and it became a separate organization. The first settled pastor of the new society was Rev. J. Livingston Smith, who was installed June 24, 1879, and resigned January 24, 1881, and the following summer the Rev. Charles Everett took charge of the congregation. The pulpit has been filled by many learned and eminent divines of the Pres- byterian faith. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Englishtown was organized in an old schoolhouse January 23, 1843. A lot was purchased on which a church was erected and used until 1878, when the present site was secured and the foundations of a new building laid which was dedi. cated October 10, 1878. The first pastor was the Rev. Robert J. An- drews, and his successors have been men of ability who have gained prominence in the Methodist denomination. St. John's Protestant Epis- copal Church was established as a branch of Saint Peter's Church of Freehold, and opened for service April 9, 1861. The Rev. Thomas J. Taylor, a missionary, was in charge of the congregation, but the society was feebly supported, and in May, 1877, the building was sold.
The Englishtown of the present day has a population of about six hundred inhabitants, and is the trading center of a large surrounding country that supports several mercantile enterprises. The early manu- facturing industries, which consisted of a fruit and vegetable canning
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establishment, also a shirt factory, have given way to an industry en- gaged in producing baskets, and there is also a small enterprise em- ployed in making harnesses. To supply educational facilities there is a commodious school building, the first school having been kept in an old tavern-stand in 1817. The financial affairs of the borough are greatly accelerated by a national bank. The two taverns of an early date estab- lished in 1820 had disappeared, and but one now caters to the trade of the traveling public.
Black Mills, which derives its name from a saw and grist mill estab- lished there prior to 1823 by Thomas and John Black, is a small hamlet situated in the southern part of the township. Africa, on the west ling of the township, is also a hamlet, and was settled prior to 1840 by colored people. Manalapanville is a small settlement situated on the township line of Manalapan and Millstone townships, and lies on the Manalapan and Freehold turnpike; for over a half of a century a hotel was con- ducted at this point.
CHAPTER XLI.
MARLBORO
Marlboro township, set off from Freehold township, was erected in 1848. It is situated on the northwest boundary of Monmouth county. having Middlesex county as its boundary. On the north it is bounded by Matawan township, on the east by Holmdel and Atlantic townships, on the south by Freehold township, and on the southwest by Manalapan township. The principal tributary of Hop river forms its eastern division from Holmdel township, and another small stream flows through Mid- dlesex county and its waters join those of South river. The Freehold & New York railroad connects the township with Matawan and Free- hold. The name Marlboro was given first to the village and later to the township, because of the extensive marl beds found in the vicinity, and because this was the first place where marl was used as a fertilizer in the county. In 1768 an Irishman working on the farm of Peter Schenck, near the village, discovered a substance which he recognized as marl, having seen the use of it in his own country. In 1795 marl was dug on one of the tributaries of Hop river and used on John H. Smock's farm, producing results that caused extensive use of it in that region.
The first settlement was made in 1685 at a place the Indians called Topanemus, a little west of the village of Marlboro. The first settlers were Quakers, the first who came being George Keith, a leader and preacher of that sect. In ancient records he is mentioned as the first settler in Freehold; but Freehold then embraced the whole of the present township of Marlboro. A Quaker meeting house was built at Topane- mus in 1692, largely through Keith's influence; but he soon after en- tered the Church of England, and in 1702, having in the meantime re- turned to England, was sent to New Jersey as a missionary of the Epis- copal church by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Soon after his arrival in this country he came to Monmouth county and preached in various places, principally at Topanemus. The greater part of Keith's friends, the Quakers, were converted to the Episcopal faith, which resulted in the building of a church at that place, and named St. Peter's. This was afterwards torn down and parts of it used in the building of St. Peter's Church at Freehold.
The old Topanemus burial ground lies a shrt distance below the railroad station at Wickatunk and between the farms owned by Hen- drick E. Conover and Huldah Barricklo. Among the inscriptions upon the old tombstones are the following: "Col. John Anderson, once Presi- dent of His Majesty's Council for the Province of New Jersey; died
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1736." "John Reid, of Scotland, who came here with his wife and three daughters in 1683; died 1723." He located first at Perth Amboy; but soon came to Monmouth county and settled on a tract called "Horten- sia," adjacent to Hop river. He became county judge and surveyor- general of the province, and held other important offices. Reid street in Elizabeth is named in his honor. Rev. John Tennent is buried in the center of the burial ground, his grave marked by a flat stone. The names on many of the old tombstones show their Scottish origin- Henderson, Samuel and William Crawford, the latter having been high sheriff of the county; William Redford, of North Britain (Scotland), Richard Clark, Archibald Craig, Anthony Ward, Jeremiah Reeder and others. Among the last families buried there were the Quackenbushs, Probascos and Boices. The last two buried there were John R. and Huldah Barriclo.
The old Scots' Meeting House, about two miles northwest of the village, was built in 1692 by Scottish Presbyterians who settled along the western border of the county, being emigrants who arrived at Perth Amboy on the ill-fated ship "Caledonia" in 1685. The graveyard still exists, overgrown with trees and weeds, and is called the "Old Scots' Burying Ground."
The old Brick Church of Marlboro, first known as the Reformed Church of the Navesinks and afterwards as the Dutch Reformed Church of Freehold and Middletown and now incorporated as the Reformed Church of Holmdel, was formed in 1699. In that year the Dutch fam- ilies of the county were in sufficient number to have stated preaching, which was supplied by clergymen from Long Island, the first of whom were Wilhelmus Lupardus, Vincentius Antonides and Bernardus Free- man. The lastnamed had been a missionary to the Mohawk Indians and was celebrated for his knowledge of that language. Until 1826 there was no other Reformed church in the county. Rev. Joseph Morgan was installed and his ministry continued for twenty-two years. The first church probably stood on a knoll about in the rear of the parsonage in Marlboro. After Mr. Morgan came the following pastors: Rev. Ger- ardus Haeghoort, 1731-35; during his pastorate a larger church was erected where divine service was held for more than ninety years. Rev. Rynhard Erickson, 1736-64. Rev. Benjamin Du Bois became the first American pastor in 1764, and was the first to introduce the English language in the church. In 1817 he was relieved from active duties by the labors of a colleague; but the pastoral relation was only dissolved by his death in 1827, he having been the settled pastor for sixty-three years, by far the longest pastorate of the Reformed and probably of any other denomination. The combined churches of Freehold and Mid- dletown had been known as the Reformed Church of Navesink; but on November 28, 1825, two separate churches were formed, the larger por- tion becoming the First Reformed Church of Freehold, and the other
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the Reformed Church of Middletown, which has since been incorporated as the Reformed Church of Holmdel.
On September 9, 1827, the present Brick Church at Bradevelt (for- merly Hillsdale), was dedicated. The succeeding pastors have been Revs. James Otterson, 1835-38; Aaron A. Marcellus and Ralph Willis, George Swain (in whose second year (1869) the chapel in Marlboro was built) ; Theodore Welles, 1873-87; James Berthoff, 1888-92; Charles W. Van Zee, 1893-1900; Abram A. Martine, 1900-1905; William M. Davis, 1905-11; Henry J. Vyverberg, 1912-14; and the present pastor, Rev. Charles L. Palmer, 1914 until the present time. The old church has a grand record of which the people and pastor are justly proud. A chapel was constructed in the village of Marlboro where services are held reg- ularly.
The first record of Baptist preaching in Marlboro was by Rev. W. D. Hires, of Holmdel, who began some time in 1836. There were a few Baptists in the vicinity, among them Miss Ella F. Herbert, a member of the Freehold Baptist Church, who died October 16, 1861, and in her will bequeathed five hundred dollars to purchase a lot upon which to erect a house of worship. However, nothing was done until the spring of 1865 when a brother of the deceased purchased a small shoe shop and fitted it up for a select school. Soon after this Rev. James Teed preached in the school-room, and later a Sunday school was organized of fourteen schol- ars, and a library of one hundred volumes was purchased. The school soon increased to thirty pupils, and in the autumn of 1865 subscriptions were taken in Marlboro, Freehold and Holmdel for the erection of a house of worship. The corner-stone was laid in presence of a large assembly August 26, 1866, the house was inclosed and the lecture room finished and dedicated February 10, 1867. Agreeable to the advice of council, the Baptists met and letters of dismission were presented of fifteen persons from the church of Freehold, eleven from Holmdel, two from Oxford, New York, one from Herbertsville and two from Mat- awan, in all thirty-one, and it was resolved to unite in convenant rela- tions as a Church of Christ, and to adopt as the church convenant and articles of faith that generally known as the New Hampshire Confes- sion. Delegates from twelve Baptist churches met at Marlboro, March 16, 1869, and after a dedication sermon was preached the church was duly organized May 16th of that year under its present title. In the first fifteen years of its history the church was served by the following pas- tors: The Revs. George Johnson, E. C. Romaine, S. L. Cox, James Thorn, B. C. Morse, and Rev. J. James Baker, who commenced his labors March 1, 1879. The resignation of Mr. Baker took place in 1884, and for several years there was a vacancy. A call was extended to Rev. L. G. Appleby, who continued for several years, when he was succeeded by Rev. M. N. Smith, who was installed December 1, 1894; his term of ser- vice was four years, and on January 1, 1899, the Rev. C. M. Sherman
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filled the pulpit, resigning December 16, 1900. The next pastor, Rev. John R. Humphrey, was ordained September 11, 1901, continuing as pastor until November 10, 1905. A call was extended to Rev. R. F. Bresnahan, July 1, 1906, a parsonage was completed, and he remained in charge until 1910, when Rev. W. L. Rossell succeeded him. The lat- ter resigned in 1912 and the Rev. W. W. Hogan was installed, his ser- vices terminating in 1915, to be succeeded by Rev. H. A. Buzzell, who remained until June, 1918; since this time the congregation has been without a pastor, the membership having dwindled so that there are only at the present time a dozen active members of the society.
The Roman Catholic congregation of St. Gabriel's was organized in 1871 by Father Kivelitz, of Freehold. Mass was celebrated once a month and religious instruction given to the children once a week. These services took place in the homes of the members, but in 1878 a church building near the Bradevelt (formerly Hillsdale) railroad station was erected on a lot donated by Patrick Fallen, and consecrated Novem- ber 4, 1878, by Archbishop Corrigan. The church is a brick structure thirty by fifty feet in dimensions, having a seating capacity of two hun- dred and fifty persons. Mass was celebrated every second Sunday by Father Kivelitz for several years. The function of laying the corner- stone and blessing the structure was performed by Rt. Rev. M. A. Cor- rigan, Bishop of Newark, New Jersey. The cost of the structure ex- clusive of furniture was $1150. On August 24, 1885, the congrega- tion was withdrawn from the spiritual charge of the Rev. Frederick Kivelitz, being clear of debt and $100 in the treasury. The Rev. John O'Leary was placed in charge of the parish and served for three years. Rev. James A. Lawrence was succeeded by Rev. James F. Gough. The next rector was Rev. James A. Healey, who came in 1914 and died while in charge of the parish, March 17, 1919. The present rector, the Rev. John O'Grady, was his successor.
The Roman Catholics in the vicinity of the village of Marlboro erected a house of worship on a lot donated by John Holland. The first mass was held in the new frame structure the first Sunday in 1922. The church is connected as a mission with St. Gabriel's parish, the mem- bership being in the neighborhood of two hundred.
Marlboro, the most important village in the township, is a station on the old Freehold & New York railroad, now operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It is situated in the southeastern part of the township, about four and a half miles from Freehold, having a popula- tion of about four hundred souls. Many years ago the place was known as Bucktown, from the old Buck Tavern, kept by John Buck, in a house still standing, but completely remodeled and occupied as a general store by J. E. Mahoney. A postoffice was located there before 1840, with John Heyer as postmaster. The first store was kept by John Smock, and the second by Daniel H. VanMater. In the fall of 1866 an associa-
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tion was formed to establish a select school, which was incorporated February 25, 1867, and Dr. D. H. VanMater, O. C. Herbert, C. H. Con- over, Uriah Smith and John Baird were elected trustees. A lot was secured, a house erected, and the school was conducted with varied suc- cess until the spring of 1884, when the building was sold and removed to the railroad, where it was fitted up as a station. The village is quite a center for the potato trade. Large storehouses for the vegetables are located near the railroad station.
Hillsdale or Hulsetown, now known as Bradevelt, is a small hamlet lying on the eastern boundary of the township, adjoining the north- western corner of the township of Atlantic. John Hulse on lease land about 1825 established a tannery which he carried on for about twenty- five years and then abandoned. A little settlement grew up around this industry and a general store was opened. Between this settlement and the railroad station the brick church and the Roman Catholic church already mentioned are located.
Robertsville, in the western part of the township and Morganville in the northeastern part, are only small hamlets. The former derives its name from Matthew Roberts, who conducted a tavern from 1835 to his death in 1876. In a school house built in 1832 the Methodists held services; a society was organized in 1885, and a church building was erected, the Rev. Dewitt McIlvaine being in charge. Among the early settlers of Morganville was the family of Morgans, from which it de- rives its name. A store was established in 1853 by W. S. Cloke, who two years later built a store building. A postoffice was established in 1868, and E. P. Coats was appointed postmaster. The Methodists of the locality erected a church building in 1869 at a cost of $2,100. Amongst the early pastors were Revs. E. H. Bacon, S. P. Crasaboon and S. M. Nichols. Morganville of the present day has a population of one hundred seventy-five persons, a station on the Freehold & Atlantic High- lands division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The mercantile trade consists of four general stores, a blacksmith shop, garage, nursery, a wagon-maker and three groceries, while its manufacturing industry is confined to the Stratford Chemical Company.
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CHAPTER XLII.
OCEAN
Ocean township was erected from a part of Shrewsbury township by an Act passed February 24, 1849, dividing Shrewsbury into two town- ships by a line "beginning at the mouth of South Shrewsbury river and running up said river to Eatontown Landing creek to the easterly line of Jacob White's land; thence northerly along the line of land between Jacob White and Peter Castler to Parker's creek; thence up said creek to the Eatontown millbrook; thence up said brook to said mill; thence up the pond to a point where a line south ten degrees west will strike the road west of Asel Spinning's, thence on a straight line to the road leading from Eatontown to Shark river, where said road crosses Cran- berry brook; thence along said road as its runs across Jumping brook to the northwest corner of Skulthrop's farm; and thence on a straight line running west of the school-house, near John P. L. Tilton's to the Howell township line; the northwesterly part to be called Shrewsbury and the southeasterly to be called Ocean township." Eatontown and Neptune townships were taken from Ocean, and the city of Long Branch and the borough of Deal were also part of its territory. The only stream of importance is the South Shrewsbury river, and the railways are the Seashore line, the New York & Long Branch line, and the Eatontown branch of the New Jersey Southern, which connects with the Seashore line at Long Branch.
Among the Associate Patentees of Monmouth were John Slocum, Joseph and Peter Parker and Eliakim Wardell, who located in 1668. John Slocum received from the proprietors a grant of 372 acres on a part of which is now located the city of Long Branch, for which he was to pay a quit-rent of a half-penny per acre. The land was north of the main road leading to the ocean, and included Slocum's Island. His two brothers located on that part of Long Branch reaching from the shore to Turtle Mill brook and embracing all the land lying north of the main road from the sea to Eatontown, between these two points to the south of Shrewsbury township, except Fresh pond and Snag swamp, which was taken by one of the Wardell family. In 1683 John Slocum was chief ranger of the county and one of the commissioners to lay out the roads. In 1688 a road was laid out "from the King's Highway that crosseth the brook, the bounds between John Slocum and his brother, Nathaniel, past Thomas Hulett and Henry Chamberlain to Whale Pond brook, past Thomas Eaton's and Samuel Whites to Horse Pound by his little water pond, and through Deale."
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In December, 1683, John Slocum was made captain of the State militia and assistant to the surveyor-general to lay out lands in Shrews- bury township. In addition to lands purchased in 1670, he came into possession of other lands from his father, Giles Slocum, of Newport, Rhode Island. This tract belonged to Robert Carr, who was one of the original patentees but did not settle here and sold the land to Giles Slocum in 1676. This land is supposed to have been in what is now Shrewsbury township, at Narumson, or Rumson. He left no children, and the property passed mainly to his nephew, son of his brother Nathan- iel, and to Peter Parker and Patience Tucker, his cousins. Peter Parker was in this section between 1665 and 1670, but where he first settled is not known. The land left to him by John Slocum is supposed to have been his residence after that time and was in possession of the family in 1824. His son Peter resided at the homestead, which was later owned by Thomas W. Cooper.
There is a romantic story in connection with the early settlement in the neighborhood of the present borough of Deal. About 1682 Gavin (or Gavine, as the name sometimes appears in the records) Drummond, a Scotchman, settled in this county and acquired a considerable tract of land to which he gave the name of Dale or Deale. He was a surveyor and a brother of John Drummond, of Lundine, Hundy and Preston Pans. Several members of the family remained here, the earliest of whom were buried in the old churchyards at Shrewsbury, although there is an old Drummond cemetery west of Deal where many of the names are in- terred. See "Book of the Dead of Monmouth," compiled by George Castor Martin, of Asbury Park.
A tale has been handed down by the Drummond family and was first written for publication by Mr. Thomas Little, of Hartford. It is briefly to the effect that between the south and south central branches of Deal Lake at Wanamassa about where the Young Men's Christian Association Auditorium was afterwards erected, was a camp site fre- quented by a band of Indians from the Delaware, who annually left their home and summered near the sea, where they gathered clams and oysters and dried them for consumption during the winter months. Nis- sima, a young maiden, was left one day in charge of the camp when the band departed for the coast. Gavin Drummond, a young surveyor, left his party who were at work on the land, later occupied by the Holly- wood Hotel, near Long Branch, and wandered away in search of game. Arriving at the camp, he found the Indian girl alone. He insulted her, and she valiantly defended herself with a knife. The band was heard approaching, and Gavin fled into the underbrush, the girl permitting him to escape. Some years afterward Drummond with his helpers was engaged in surveying what is now Wanamassa. He blazed the tree rear which he had hidden during his flight, and began his survey from that spot. Mr. Little in telling the story quoted from the old land
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