History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 73

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974

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"There was a delay in giving the alarm, as those who first discovered it had their attention engrossed by the effort to rescue property from the burning building. Half an hour is said to have elapsed before the bells were rung. The Seminary bell gave the first alarm. We happened to be among the first who were aroused, and when we arrived upon the ground the flames were bursting in great sheets from the front windows of the building and through the roof. Mr. Postmaster Fleming was also early on the ground, and rescued the mails and other property in the Post-Office. Messrs. Sanders and Burrell got out a few of General Haight's law books, but all his valuable papers were destroyed. Sanders and Burrell remained at work so long that their retreat by the stairs was cut off; the former escaped by leaping from the porch roof, but the floor fell in before Burrell got out, and he went down with it, and in some almost miraculous way escaped through the front of the building without any serious injury.

" The Hook and Ladder Company, with their appa- ratus, were promptly on the ground, rendering all the assistance in their power. They put up their ladders upon the adjoining houses, and passed water up, and with their hooks and ropes endeavored to tear away the rear of the burning building, but their apparatus was soon disabled, owing to the strength of the oak timbers. It now became apparent that the fire would rapidly spread, and it appeared as if nothing could be done to prevent a general conflagration of the town. The Union Hotel, D. C. Perrine's store, William Lloyd's store and dwelling, and G. S. Conover's drug- store, on the opposite side of the street, were scorching from the heat, and showers of burning cinders were

falling upon the roofs. Rev. F. Chandler, after ad- vising with some of our citizens, went to the telegraph- office, and, using Governor Parker's name, telegraphed to the Fire Departments of New Brunswick, Trenton and Bordentown for help. Responses were received from New Brunswick that they had but one engine available, and that it would not be prudent to spare it ; from Trenton and Bordentown, that their men and machines were ready awaiting transportation.

" By this time the buildings on both sides of the Inquirer building were in flames. Burtis's store, on the north, separated from the clerk's office by Court Street, a narrow alley-way, was an old building of the most substantial character,-the frame and timbers of oak. With its rear additions, it extended about one hundred and fifty feet on Court Street. It burned fiercely, and made a great heat. Owing to the narrow passage-way between it and the clerk's office, the firemen were soon driven out by the heat.

"The court house, which includes under the same roof the clerk's and surrogate's offices on the south end and a jury-room and law-offices on the north end, was a substantial brick building, handsomely built and adorned with a wooden roof, two wooden cupolas and an elaborate wooden cornice. Recently the Board of Chosen Freeholders, as a protection against fire, authorized the construction of a reservoir of water, to which was attached a powerful force-pump and a sup- ply hose1. This apparatus had been promptly put in operation under the direction of Sheriff Hendrickson and County Clerk Arrowsmith, and the roof and the sides of the building were constantly flooded with water. Presently the cry went up that the cornice was on fire, and soon volumes of smoke began to pour through the cupolas and out of every crevice in the roof. The firemen redoubled their exertions, but they could not reach the fire. It ran along and under the cornice and under the roof, and the flames soon burst out in every direction, presenting a scene of beauty and grandeur rarely witnessed, but coupled with the sad- dest reflections and apprehensions of the greatest danger.

1 " Mr. John Bawden, of the Freehold Iron Foundry, had obtained considerable experience in the service of the Fire Department of Brooklyn, which enabled him to ren- der more efficient service here. Under his direction, the hose from the iron foundry was attached to the force- pump of the court-house, by means of which a stream was carried to the top of the court-house. Driven from there, he retreated with his apparatus to the offices on the north end of the building, where, resisting the efforts of some zealous but inexperienced persons to tear down the brick walls of the offices, he reserved the water until the roof fell in, when, by a judicious use of the hose, he extinguished the fire on the second floor of that building. He also di- rected the efforts by which the fire was prevented from spreading to the buildings of R. A. Ellis & Son, adjoining the court-house property, by which all the northern end of the town was saved from destruction."

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

"In the northern direction the fire was stayed. The thick walls of the court-house confining the flames, and the extraordinary exertions of the people in flooding the roofs with water, and hanging wet car- pets on the sides of the buildings exposed to the heat, were successful in preventing the fire from extending beyond the public buildings.

. office were also conveyed to a place of safety. Both offices were stripped of everything of value; all that was left behind were a few loose papers in the pigeon- holes, and a huge pile of justice's dockets, dating back to a short period after the flood. The doors of the vaults were then closed, and the place was aban- doned. As soon after the fire was over as possible the vaults were opened, and the papers left behind were found safe." 1

Westward from the point where the fire originated it spread to and destroyed the stores of R. Morris Hartshorne, Conover & Thomp- son and E. B. Bedle. Conover & Thompson's store was built mostly of hemlock timber, and was soon destroyed. The first floor was occu- pied by the owners as a clothing and furnishing store, in the second story front was the law- office of William H. Conover, Jr., and in the rear was the manufacturing department of the clothing-store. The third story was unoccupied. In the second story of Bedle's store was the law office of William H. Vredenburgh. In this office was the valuable law library collected by his father, Judge Vredenburgh, and most of the valuable collection of Daniel B. Ryall, both of which had been purchased by Mr. Vreden- burgh. So rapid was the progress of the flames that little could be done towards saving his

property. He secured most of the valuable papers and books in his safe, but none of his furniture and but few of his books.

" The buildings on the east side of the street were now scorching and smoking from the heat. D. C. Perrine had prudently provided a cistern of water, a "As soon as fears for the safety of the court-house were entertained, measures were taken by the officers in charge, to save the records. The books and papers of the county clerk were carried to Davis' Hotel, and afterwards transferred to Captain Arrowsmith's force-pump and sufficient length of hose to reach the roof of his large store, which is built of brick. He brought his apparatus into service, and poured water on the roofs of the Union Hotel and Lloyd's store and dwelling, adjoining him on the right and left. A -- residence. The books and papers of the surrogate's | small garden-engine was also used to keep the front

of Mr. Lloyd's buildings wet. Several times the hotel seemed upon the point of bursting into flames, but by constant exertion it was saved.

" Adjoining Bedle's store on the south, separated by an alley-way, stood the old ' Ryall Homestead,' owned and occupied by Colonel P. G. Vought, who, with his wife, are now traveling in Europe. The house was one of the best and most substantial dwellings in the town, was handsomely built, and but a few years ago was thoroughly renovated and repaired. Extra- ordinary exertions were made to save it. The sides and roof of the building were covered with carpets, which were kept constantly saturated with water- The furniture was taken out and carried to a place of safety. The people labored with great energy and perseverance, but without avail. The firemen were at last driven from the building by the flames, and the beautiful dwelling was abandoned to its fate.

"Separated from the Ryall house was a long two- story building, built nearly a century ago. It was occupied on the first floor by J. W. Swartz's law-office and the Home Sewing Machine Agency, and in the second story by Dr. W. W. Pitman's dentistry. After a brief consultation between a few citizens, the order was given by the chief of the Fire Department, Mr. James J. Conover, to Mr. George C. Hulitt, foreman of the hook-and-ladder company, to tear down the building, and thus make an opening in the path of the fire. Hulitt rallied his men, and with axes, crow- bars and ropes they rushed to their work, assisted on the ropes by the bystanders generally. Everybody worked with desperate energy. The timbers, of sea- soned oak and hardened by age, for a long while re- sisted the efforts of the laborers. It was almost like cutting iron to work through post or beam. The crowd heaved at the ropes until the strands cracked, but the old house never shook, even. At last a piece of the roof gave way, and the firemen had a better stand for their work. In the mean time the Ryall house, with its strong timbers and brick lining, con- fined the heat and flame within its walls, and so shielded the firemen at their work. Piece by piece the roof of the old building was torn off, and so they fought their way gradually to the ground, but not before the flames were playing dangerously around them."

1 The offices of the clerk and surrogate were destroyed with the court-house, to which they were attached. "The vaults and safes of these offices were intended to be fire- proof. and they stood the test of fire. Not a single article left in them was injured ; the very plants and flowers, which were the pets of the clerk [Mr. David S. Crater] of the surrogate, were found, upon opening the vault, to be green and blooming in the midst of destruction on all sides." This quotation is made from an address made before the court by the Hon. Joel Parker on the 31st of October, 1873, from which address much of the preceding account of the old court-houses and jails of the county has · been taken.

THE TOWN OF FREEHOLD.

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The destruction of the building adjoining Colonel Vought's dwelling stayed the fire in that direction. It was now nearly five o'clock, and the fire had been raging about four hours. The total loss by the conflagration was estimated at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The public buildings were estimated at sixty thou- sand dollars (a high figure), and the insurance on them was thirty thousand dollars. Neither the bell which had been on the court-house nor any trace of the metal composing it was ever found among the ruins.

Measures were taken at once to rebuild the court-house, and arrangements were made for the holding of the courts, in the mean time, in the session-house of the Reformed Church. The walls of the old court-house remained standing, and the plan adopted was to work these walls into the new structure, which plan was carried out, except with regard to a part of the rear wall, which fell soon afterwards. The rebuild- ing was done by the insurance companies which had carried the risks on the old building ; and the work of construction was pushed with so much of vigor and energy that in a little more than four months from the time of the fire the present court-house (embracing the offices of the sheriff, clerk and surrogate under its roof) was completed ; and on the 18th of April, 1874, the first jury case was tried within its walls, before Judge George W. Shinn. Since that time the courts have been held there regularly. The clock which now tells the hours from the cupola of the court-house was procured by subscription, and was first set in motion June 5, 1874. An ad- dition to the court-house, on its rear, and on the line of Court Street, has been in process of con- struction during the present fall, and is now (November, 1884) nearly completed. The ob- ject of it is to extend the accommodations of the clerk's office, and its cost will be about seven thousand five hundred dollars.

After the destruction of the public buildings, the county prisoners were transferred to the Mercer County jail, and were kept there and in the " lock-up" at Long Branch until a new place of confinement was finished in Freehold. On the 9th of February, 1874, the Board of Freeholders resolved to build a jail and jailer's

residence, at a cost not exceeding sixteen thousand dollars. The work proceeded, and the building which forms the prison and residence was com- pleted during the year following. It stands in the rear of the court-house, having its front on Court Street.

ST. PETER'S (EPISCOPAL) CHURCH edifice has stood on its present site in Freehold for at least a century and a quarter, while the church in its organization is still many years older, ranking among the most ancient of religious organizations in the county of Monmouth and in the State of New Jersey.

The first promoter of the establishment, in Monmouth County, of religious worship accord- ing to the usage and creed of the Episcopal Church was Lewis Morris, of Tinton Manor (afterwards Governor of New Jersey), who, in the year 1700, wrote the bishop of London, urging the sending hither of George Keith as a missionary for that purpose. Keith, who, in 1685, was a member of the Society of Friends, came to America at about that time, and settled in Monmouth County, in the township of Free- hold, but a year or two later removed to Philadelphia, where he remained several years, during which period he returned several times to Monmouth County, and in the year 1792 he took a leading part in the organization of a dis- senting branch of the Quakers, and in the building of a meeting-house for their use,-he having quarreled with and seceded (or was ex- pelled) from the Orthodox wing of the society in Philadelphia. Soon afterwards he returned to England, where, after a little time, he entirely renounced the Quaker doctrines and joined the Established Church, becoming a clergyman of some prominence in it. In the year 1702 (probably in the pursuance of the suggestion made by Lewis Morris to the bishop of London, already mentioned) he was sent out as a mis- sionary by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Early in the au- tumn of the year named he arrived at Perth Amboy, and preached his first sermon in that town on the 3d of October. Of that meeting, he says1 that there were among his audience a

1 In a work written by him, entitled "A Journey of

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

number of old acquaintances (made during his residence in Monmouth County, from thirteen to fifteen years before), and some of them had been Quakers1 but were come over to the church, particularly Miles Forster and John Barclay (brother of the proprietary Governor, Robert Barclay). After stopping a few days with Miles Forster, he left Amboy for Monmouth County, where he preached his first sermon on the 10th of October. Concerning his visit to Mon- mouth at that time, the following extracts are taken from his " Journal of Travel," viz. :

"October 10, 1702 .- We went to the Meeting of the Quakers at Toponemes1 in Freehold [township], in East Jersey, who used to keep a separate meeting from the other Quakers for their gross errors, and joined with me and my friends in the separation about 1692; and it happened to be their Yearly Meeting, where divers came from West Jersey and Pennsylvania. One of their preachers prayed and preached before I began. After he had done I used some Church Collects I had by heart in Prayer, and after that I preached on Hebrews v. 9. There was a considerable auditory of divers sorts,-some of the Church and some Presbyterians, besides Quakers. They heard me without interruption and the meeting proceeds,-

ended peaceably. Their two speakers lodged in the same house with me that evening, at the house of Thomas Boels, formerly a Quaker, but now of the Church. I had some free discourse with them about several weighty things. I told them that so far as they used their gifts to instruct the ignorant and re- claim the vile errours of Quakerism, they were to be commended; but that they had taken upon them to administer baptism and the Lord's Supper to any, they were greatly to be blamed, having no call or ordination to do so.

"We met again next day, and after that I prayed, using the same Collects as the day before, and preached on 1st Thes. v. 9, without any interruption, and the meeting peaceably ended. I could blame nothing in the matter of the second speaker nor in the former, except where he said in his discourse 'That they who were in Christ need not fear Hell.' I endeav- oured to clear the matter in my discourse by distin- guishing between an absolute fear of hell, such as

Travel from New Hampshire to Caratuck, on the Continent of America, by George Keith, A. M., late Missionary from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and now Rector of Edburton, in Sussex. London : Printed by Joseph Downing for Brab. Aylmer, at the Three Pigeons, against the Royal Exchange, Cornhill, 1706."

The " Caratuck" here mentioned is in North Carolina. where is found the inlet, county and county-seat village of · Currituck.

wicked men ought to have, and a conditional fear, which good men, even such who are in Christ, ought to have; and about this he and I had some private discourse, also betwixt us ; but he was dissatisfied and would not own that any who were in Christ ought to have any fear of hell, so much as conditional.

"October 26th .- I preached again at Shrewsbury on Matt. 7 : 13. In these meetings in Shrewsbury, Mid- dletown and Topenemes, or where else in the Nethe- sinks, Mr. Louis Morris and divers others of the best note in that County frequented the congregations and places where we preached, and did kindly entertain us at their Houses, where we lodged as we travelled too and again, particularly at Mr. Morris, Mr. Inness, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Boels and Mr. Read. Mr. Inness, being in Priest's orders, often preached among them, and by preaching and conference frequently with the Quakers and other sorts of People, as also by his pious conversation, has done much good among them and been very instrumental to draw them off from their errours, and bring them over to the Church.".

In the latter part of November, Mr. Keith left Monmouth County and proceeded to Penn- sylvania by way of Burlington. In December of the same year he returned on another preaching tour in this region, and his journal

"December 20th, 1702 .- I preached at Dr. John- ston's, at Nethersinks, on Rev. 22 : 14.

"Dec. 25th .- Friday, being Christmas, I preached at the house of Mr. Morris on Luke 21 : 10-11, and after sermon divers of the Auditory received with us the Holy Sacrament; both Mr. Morris and his wife and divers others ; Mr. Talbot did administer it.

"January 1st, 1703, Friday .- I preached at the house of Thomas Boels, in Freehold, in East Jersey. My text was Isaiah 59: 20-21. Before sermon, after the church prayers, I baptized all his children,-two sons and three daughters. He was formerly a Quaker, but is now come over to the Church; also a son of Samuel Dennis, a late convert from Quakerism.

" January 3ª, 1703 .- I preached again at his house on the same text, and before sermon Mr. Talbot bap- tized two persons belonging to the family of John Reid, formerly a Quaker, but was lately come over to the Church with all his children,-one son and two daughters. His two daughters were baptized by Mr. Talbot, October 20th, 1702; as also. the same day was baptized William Leads [Leeds] and his sister, Mary Leads, late converts from Quakerism to the Church. And some days before, at the house of John Reid, Mr. Talbot baptized the wife of Alexander Neaper and his three children. Both he and his wife had been Quakers, but were come over to the Church.

"January 4th, 1703 .- I came to the house of Robert Rey [Rhea], in Freehold, in East Jersey, accompanied

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THE TOWN OF FREEHOLD.

with Thomas Boels, and lodged at his house that , the Gospel for a missionary for this region, but night. At his and his wife's desire, I baptized all his children, some boys and some girls, in number, five. His wife is come over to the Church, but he was not then come thoroughly out of Quakerism."

After this, Mr. Keith proceeded to Burling- ton, and thence, by way of Philadelphia, to Maryland, Virginia and to the northeastern corner of North Carolina. Nine months later he returned to Monmouth County and again held services, concerning which the following entries appear in his Journal :

"October 10th, 1873, Sunday .- I preached at To- six years, after which he went as a missionary penemes, in Freehold, in East Jersey, on Acts 24: 12, and had considerable auditory, diverse of them late converts from Quakerism to the Church. Mr. Innes, above mentioned, did read the Prayers. Mr. Talbot stayed to preach in several places in Pennsilvania and West Jersey for some time.

On the 31st of October, Mr. Keith preached at Amboy, after which he went to New York, and thence proceeded on a tour through the New England colonies, which occupied about two months. He then returned to Monmouth County and held meetings as follows :

"January 9th, 1704. - I preached at the house of Dr. Johnston, in Neverthesinks, on Psalm 119: 5, -

113, and had a considerable auditory.

"January 16th .- I preached at Mr. Morris' honse, at the Falls of Shrewsbury, in East Jersey, on 2ª Cor. 5: 17.

"January 23ª .- I preached again at Mr. Morris' house, on 2 Peter 1: 5.

"January 30th .- I preached at the house of Mr. Thomas Boels, in Freehold, in East Jersey, on 1 Cor. 15: 58.

"February 6th. - I preached at the house of Mr. John Reid, in Freehold, East Jersey, on Psalms 119: 96."

This appears to have been the last preaching by Mr. Keith in Monmouth County. He went from Freehold township to Burlington, and thence, by way of Eastern Pennsylvania, to Maryland and Virginia, and soon afterwards sailed for England, where he remained (settled at Edburton, in Sussex) during the remainder of his life.

After the departure of Mr. Keith the Rev. Alexander Innes preached to the congregations from time to time until 1713. A request had been made to the Society for the Propagation of | MDCCLVIII."

none could then be obtained. It is not shown what ministers, if any, were in Monmouth County for twenty years after 1713, but it is stated that " for a long period the supply. of missionary services was very irregular."1 In 1733 the Rev. John Forbes came over as a missionary, and John Milne succeeded him in 1738.

The Rev. Thomas Thompson was appointed by the society, missionary to the churches in Monmouth County in 1745, and served here to the coast of Africa. He published a narra- tive 2 of his missionary labors, from which the following facts are gathered : He sailed from Gravesend, England, May 8, 1745, and arrived at New York on the 29th of August following. On the second Sunday after his arrival he passed to Elizabethtown " on my Journey to Mon- mouth County, in the Eastern Division, where I was appointed to reside and have the Care of the Churches in that County, being also Licensed thereto by the Right Reverend the late Lord Bishop of London." He proceeded to Kings- bury, near Trenton, where he waited on Gover- nor Lewis Morris and "took the oath of allegiance and supremacy and also the abjuration Oath, and subscribed to the Declaration in presence of his Excellency," and soon after proceeded to the place of his labor in Mon- mouth County, concerning which his " Account" proceeds as follows :

"I had three churches immediately in my charge, each of them situated in a different township, which had regular duty in such proportions as were agreed upon and subscribed to at a general vestry meeting soon after my coming there. The names of the town- ships are Freehold, Shrewsbury and Middletown. I also officiated at Allentown, in Upper Freehold, while that church was destitute of a minister, which was

1 Bishop Doane, in an address before the convention in 1837.

2 " An Account of the Missionary Voyages by the Ap- pointment of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,-The one to New Jersey, in North Amer- ica, and then from America to Coast of Guiney. By the Rev. Thomas Thompson, Vicar, of Reculver, in Kent. London : Printed for Benjamin Dod at the Bible and Key, in Ave Mary Lane, near St. Paul's,

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

afterward supplied by Mr. Michael Houdin, a convert from the Church of Rome, and a worthy clergyman, now the society's missionary. These four townships comprised the whole county, although forty or fifty miles in length, and in some parts of it considerably wide. I also did occasional duty at other places, as will be further mentioned.

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History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 1, Part 73

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 974

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 974