USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 2 > Part 46
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Dr. Van Vranken desired to build one large church in the centre of the two congregations, to take the place of the two houses of worship in which he was then preaching on alternate Sab- baths. The people were divided in opinion. The Classis appointed a committee to investigate the matter, possessing talent enough to settle the gravest questions of state. Its chairman was Rev. James S. Canon. Associated with him were Revs. John L. Zabriskie and James B.
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Hardenbergh, and the elders, John Freling- huysen, of Somerville, and Jacob R. Harden- bergh, of New Brunswick. This committee, after holding divine service in the church at Middletown, met with a committee appointed by the two congregations to present their views, and then conferred with other prominent and influential ones who chanced to be present. The meeting was harmonious, and with one mind desired the division of the congregation, believ- ing it would tend to the enlargement of each of the congregations, and be the means also of making friendship therein. Dr. Canon recom- mended the formation of the two congregations, according to the requirements of the church constitution. The Classis adopted his recom- mendation, and also, with others, the following resolution : " That the line which divides the township of Freehold from the township of Middletown be recommended to be the line of division, for the present, between the congre- gations of Freehold and Middletown, when formed." By this action of the Classis, the united congregations of Freehold and Middle- town, which for nearly a hundred and twenty- five years had enjoyed the labors of the same pastors, had mingled their voices in the worship of God, had consecrated their children to the Lord at the same baptismal font and had gathered about the same communion-table, were severed in twain, November 28, 1825, the larger portion becoming the First Reformed Church of Freehold, the other the Reformed Church of Middletown, which has since been incorporated the Reformed Church of Holm- del.
Henceforth their history flows in two distinct and separate channels. It is proposed to trace here the course of only the main branch of the divided streanı,-the First Reformed Church of Freehold. Eighty families and sixty-cight communicants were represented by this cor- porate title. The consistory was composed of three elders and three deacons. Garret Wyckoff, Daniel I. Selienck and Aaron Smock were the elders; Joseph Van Cleef, Denise Schenck and Garret G. Conover were the deacons.
. The first act of the consistory was to extend 47
a call to the Rev. Samuel A. Van Vranken to become their pastor. It was accepted at once, and Mr. Van Vranken's relation to the " United Congregation of Freehold and Middletown" dissolved by Classis April 19, 1826. On Sunday, the 22d of the previous January, he had preached a farewell sermon to the Middle- town congregation, and, vacating their parson- age, had moved within the bounds of the Freeliold congregation April 11th. Mr. Van Vranken was a very popular preacher, and his great popularity as a pulpit orator caused the Classis, when dissolving his pastoral relation with the united congregations, and approving the call of the First Church of Freehold, to adopt the useless and impracticable resolution, "that it be enjoined upon the consistories of Freehold and Middletown, so soon as may be convenient, to take the late recommendation of Classis, in regard to a division line between the two congregations, into their serious consider- ation." It was never convenient. The con- sistories were wiser than the Classis. No body of men can dictate the place where Christian families shall worship. Convenience, inclina- tion or preference will invariably determine church relations. Arrangements were made, but never perfected, for the installation of Mr. Van Vranken at the Freehold Church, on the third Sabbath of July. A question was raised in relation to the necessity of installation ser- vices. As Mr. Van Vranken had already been installed the pastor of the same people who now called him again, and had never vacated the pulpit he occupied, it scemed to many a superfluous thing to have him reinstalled. It took the Classis two full years to decide the matter. The letter of the law was obeyed, and formal installation services were held April 16, 1828. The Rev. James Romeyn preached the sermon. The Rev. James B. Hardenbergh delivered the charge to the pastor and the Rev. J. Tenbrook Beekman the charge to the people.
The settlement of the affairs of the two con- gregations was pushed forward with energy. At a meeting hield the 2d day of January, 1826, it was unanimously agreed "that the church edifice, and grounds adjacent thereto,
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
should be considered the exclusive property of the congregation worshiping therein; that all the other property, whether real or personal, belonging to the corporation of the United Con- gregations at the time of their separation, shall be equally divided between the two, the one moiety, or half, to each ; that all moneys in hand at the time of their separation, or there- after to be collected, shall be equally divided, whether arising from subscriptions, bonds, notes or otherwise and that all debts shall be equally borne by each, and paid previous to any di- vision of the property." A fairer settlement could not be adjusted. Its realization was at- tended with difficulties. Ill feeling was engen- dered, bitter words were spoken and the peaee of the two congregations greatly disturbed. The storm soon passed by, the final settlement between the congregations taking place May 6, 1826. At this settlement the consistory of this church received $2555. They were the possessors, also, of $2500 received from the estate of Tunis G. Van Der Veer. They also had $3750, the half of the sum received from the sale of the parsonage farm,-making a total of $8805, with which to commence their inde- pendent career.
The only real estate of which they were pos- sessed was the land adjacent to an old ehureh, so thoroughly out of repair that the building of a new one was an imperative necessity. They had no parsonage, and for this purpose pur- chased the small farm of about eighteen aeres, in the southwestern portion of the eongrega- tion, now owned and occupied by Mr. Daniel Van Mater. There the pastors of this church resided for nearly forty years. When the property was purchased, it eost the eongrega- tion $3766.
Early in the spring of 1826 measures were inaugurated for securing a new church. There was considerable difficulty in determining its location. Some of the congregation desired to have it built on Hendrickson's Hill, the place already mentioned as the site of the first Re- formed Church in Monmouth County. But in April the eonsistory unanimously resolved to erect a new house of worship "on the site of the present church." They also determined
that the building should be forty-five feet wide and fifty-five feet long, and that it should be of brick, with a steeple and a gallery. Mr. James I. Baird and Mr. Garret H. Smock were appointed a building committee, subject to tlie direction of the consistory.
On Sunday, the 4th of June, Mr. Van Vran- ken preached a farewell sermon to the old building, which since 1732, a period of ninety- four years, had echoed with the praises of Almighty God, and to many was endeared above all the places of earth. After the old building was taken down, and while the new one was in course of erection, Mr. Van Vranken preached at the court-house, in Freehold village, and also in the, vicinity of Colt's Neck, sometimes at Mr. Statesir's, and frequently in a barn on the old Stoutenburgh farm, the property now owned by Mr. Ryall. The work on the new church was pushed forward with energy and zeal. So far as practicable, the materials of the old building were used in the construction of the new. A well was dug, not far from the road, in the present churchyard, to supply the necessary water. This well remained many years after the church was finished. A shed for cooking purposes was put up on the church-grounds, not far from the building, that the laborers might be boarded, and much expense saved. The brieks were made and burnt on the farm now occupied by Mr. John H. Van Mater, ad- joining the church property. Captain Isaae Herbert, who was learning his trade with Mr. James Thompson, the blacksmith, on whose anvil all the necessary iron fixtures for the church were wrought, carted the first load ot sand with an ox-team. The day was very warm, and one of the oxen, when returning home, fell dead in the road. The greater part of the carting was done by Joseph Van Der Veer, who, when the present pastor moved into the parsonage, came to bid him welcome, saying lie had welcomed Dominie Van Vranken, and every minister since his day, to their home in the parsonage.
The corner-stone of the new building was laid some time in July, and the building was completed the following year. The marble tablet in the front of the building was the gift
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of Mr. Hull, a stonc-cutter at Matawan. bears this inscription :
REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH. ERECTED A. D. 1826.
"Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools." Eccle. 5: 1.
The first religious services held within the walls of the new church were the funeral cere- monies of the Rev. Benjamin Du Bois, August 23d.
The building cost about ten thousand dollars, rather more tlian less. Its appearance, when com- pleted, differed within from its appearance at present. The pulpit was higher; back of the pul- pit there was a window, and above the window a gilded dove. The elders' and deacons' seats, and other pews filling up the space, were each side of the pulpit, where the stoves now stand. The change was made in 1853, through a com- mittee of which Mr. Uriah Smock was chair- man. No other material alterations have been made.
The building was dedicated by the pastor Sunday, the 9th day of September, 1827. The pastor also preached a sermon suitable to the occasion. An original anthem and an original hymn, prepared for the occasion, were sung by the choir. The singing was led by Mr. Garret H. Smock. Among those who assisted him were Mr. John Conover, Mr. Garret S. Smock (deceased), Mrs. Sydney Schenck, Mrs. Benja- min Du Bois, Mrs. John Henry Van Der Veer, Mrs. Elizabeth Du Bois, Mrs. Jacob Probasco, Mr. Aaron Smock, Miss Phoebe Van Der Veer and Mr. Daniel Polhemus Smock, who after- wards for many years was the church chorister.
Mr. Van Vranken continued to occupy the pulpit of the new church for about seven years. In July, 1834, he received a call from the Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, and his pastoral relation with this people was dissolved by the action of Classis the 23d of that month. During the cight years of his pastorate, imme- diately following the separation of the congre- gation, the eighty families and sixty-eight con- municants, with which the First Church of Frechold conimeneed its independent existence,
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became one hundred and thirty families and one hundred and fifty-nine communicants.
The Rev. James Otterson was Mr. Van Vranken's successor. He was formally installed the first Wednesday of January, 1835. Dr. Abraham Messler, of Somerville, preached the sermon. The charge to the pastor was delivered by Dr. Howe, of New Brunswick, and that to the people by Dr. Sears, of Six-Mile Run. The relation thus formed was of short duration. It was dissolved November 27, 1838. Mr. Otter- son died of paralysis at the residence of his namesake son, in Philadelphia, September 17, 1867.
To succeed Mr. Otterson the consistory called the Rev. Aaron A. Marcellus in 1839. He was installed the last Wednesday of May. On this occasion the Rev. James K. Campbell, of North Branch, preached the sermon. The Rev. J. Tenbrook Beekman delivered the charge to the pastor and the Rev. J. C. Sears the charge to the people.
Mr. Marcellus was born at Amsterdam, N.Y., in 1799. His ancestors were Dutch. He gradu- ated from Union College in 1826, from the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick in 1830, and the same year was licensed to preach the gospel by the Classis of New York. His first settlement was as pastor of the Reformed Church at Lysander, N. Y. In 1831 he re- moved to Schaghticoke, in 1834 to Manhattan. In 1836 he became principal of the Lancaster Academy, which position lie resigned, in 1839, to take charge of this church. This was by far his longest pastorate, extending over a period of twelve years. In 1851 he resigned his call and commenced teaching in New York City. In 1856 he assumed the pastorate of the church at Greenville, but after a ministry of about three years commenced teaching at Bergen, where hc dicd in 1860.
In 1835 the rapid growth of the village of Frechold, and the large number of the families of the congregation residing in its vicinity, caused the consistory to purchase a lot in the village from Mr. Cyrus Bruen, and to com- mence the crection thereon of a house of worship. - The corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies by the Rev. James
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
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Otterson in the spring of 1836, but when the frame was raised and partly inclosed, work was suspended for want of funds. The build- ing remained in this unfinished condition for nearly two years. The consistory thought of abandoning the enterprise, and would have done so, it is said, but for the earnest protest of Mrs. John H. Smock. . When her husband related the views of the consistory, she sliook her head and made reply, saying, ".No, John ; . no. That church ouglit to be finished and must be finished." Mr. Smock was of the same opinion. He started a subscription, ad- vanced money and pushed the work forward with such success that the completed building was dedicated by the Rev. James Otterson, February 1, 1838. It cost the congregation, exelusive of the lot, about five thousand dollars.
At one time an attempt was made to again consolidate the Freehold and Middletown con- gregations, and call two pastors for the three pulpits. When Mr. Marcellus was ealled, in 1839, it was stipulated that he should preach twice on the Sabbatlı,-in the Brick Church iu the forenoon, and in the church in the village of Freehold in the afternoon. But this ar- rangement soon proved very unsatisfactory to the village people. They naturally desired a morning service, and finally resolved to organ- ize the Second Reformed Church of Freehold. Mr. Ebenezer Conover and Mr. David Buek were appointed a committee to petition Classis, aud the church was organized the first Tuesday in October, 1842. The church was formed almost entirely from this congregation, and they at once requested a full warranty deed for the church property in the village. The consistory refused to grant their request, because those still remaining in the Brick Church congregation had expended at least three thousand five hundred dollars in the erection of the building, and the congregation having been weakened in their ability to support a pastor, did not feel able to present the new congregation with a house of worship. But desirous of encouraging the enterprise, they offered to give them a elear title for fifteen hundred dollars. This generous ' offer was not accepted. They then offered
the church for one thousand dollars, but even this magnanimous offer was rejected ; and so, finally, in 1846, four years after their organi- zation, the village congregation offered this con- sistory seven hundred and fifty dollars for the village church. The offer was accepted, and thus was consummated the cheapest transfer of real estate the county clerk has ever recorded.
The ministry of Mr. Marcellus was very greatly blessed, so that, although a church had been formed out of the congregation, he had the satisfaction of seeing their places more than filled. When commencing his ministry the membership of the church was one hundred and thirty-seven. When the pastoral relation was dissolved it was one hundred and eighty-four. To the ministry of Mr. Marcellus two import- ant institutions of the church owe their origin, -the Sabbath-school and the week-day prayer meeting. The Sabbath-school was organized in 1840. It was held, for want of a better place, in the gallery of the church, and there it lias ever since convened. It is known as the Brick Church Sabbath-School, and is in session only through the warm months of the year. The first year of its existence it reported one hundred and eight seholars, with an average at- tendanee of eighty. Its first superintendent was Mr. William Statesir. He was succeeded by Mr. William Spader, who superintended the school for twenty years with great ability and suceess. Mr. Lafayette G. Schenck was super- intendent a short time, when Mr. Lafayette Schenck, the present superintendent, assumed the office. There are in this school four large adult Bible classes, an infant class, thirteen teachers and one hundred seholars.
In 1851 the Rev. Ralph Willis succeeded Mr. Marcellus. He was installed September 23d. Mr. Willis was a graduate of Rutgers College and of the Theological Seminary of New Brunswick. He was licensed by the Clas- sis of Philadelphia, and ordained to the gospel ministry as pastor of the Reformed Church at Betlilehem, N. Y., in 1842. His ministry here embraces a period of over sixteen years. The pastoral relation was dissolved February 28, 1868.
In 1852 a second Sabbath-school was organ-
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MARLBOROUGH TOWNSHIP.
ized at Marlboroughi. It met in the district school-house, and was intended only as a winter school. It was at first superintended by Mr. Willis himself. Those who have occupied the office of superintendent are too numerous to mention. Those who have done so for the longest period are Mr. Lafayette G. Schenck and Mr. John Baird. Since the erection of the chapel this school has been maintained both summer and winter. It is known as the Marl- borough Chapel Sabbath-School.
In 1855 the church-grounds for burial pur- poses were enlarged by the addition of an acre of land on the west side of the church, and in 1866 a similar addition was made on the east side, and the sheds which formerly stood in the rear of the church were removed to their present position, greatly enhancing the appearance of the cemetery, which is rapidly becoming one of the most picturesque and beautiful. The church building was also put in thorough repair and the wood-work painted. The improvements cost the congregation about two thousand dol- lars.
In 1868 the Rev. George Swain succeeded Mr. Willis. He was installed September 1st. He was a graduate of the college and seminary at New Brunswick, and had been ordained, in 1866, by the Classis of New Brunswick, at Middlebnsh, Somerset County, N. J., which po- sition he resigned at the call of this people. At his installation the Rev. Garret C. Schenck pre- sided and read the form. The charge to the pastor was delivered by the Rev. Samuel Lock- wood, and the Rev. James Bolton delivered the charge to the people. Mr. Swain's ministry proved to be a short one. He resigned his call in April, 1873, to take charge of the Gates Av- enue Presbyterian Church, of Brooklyn, N. Y. This position he occupied about two years, when he became pastor of the Old Presbyterian Church, at Allentown, Monmouth County, where he still resides.
Immediately after the settlement of Mr. Swain, measures were inaugurated for securing a lecture-room or chapel in the village of Marlboroughi. Various causes rendered snch a building desirable. The village was growing, and many of its inhabitants, in the communion
of the church, were unable to attend the services in this house of worship with regularity and convenience. In 1869 a suitable lot of about half an acre, on the west side of Main Street, in the centre of the village, was purchased by the consistory, and a committee appointed to secure tlie erection of a chapel. Messrs. Urialı Smock, Peter L. Cortelyou, Lafayette Schenck and Dr. Lewis I. Gordon constituted this committee. They pushed the work forward with energy and zeal. The building they erected is twenty-six feet wide and forty-six feet long, and cost the congregation two thousand seven hundred and twenty-five dollars. The pulpit was provided by the consistory of the Second Reformed Church of Freehold. The bell was donated by Mr. Peter L. Cortelyou. The head-light over the door was the gift of Mr. David R. Hobart. The clock was presented by the Hon. Garret A. Hobart, of Paterson, N. J., and the Bible and hymn-book by Mrs. John E. Conover. The building was dedicated, entirely free from debt, November 21, 1869.
In 1870 the congregation determined to dis- pose of the farm which for forty years had been the home of their pastors, and build a par- sonage at Marlborough village. To carry out this desire a committee was appointed, consisting of Messrs. Peter L. Cortelyou, Uriah Smock, Peter C. Van Der Veer, A. W. Hobart and Peter C. Du Bois. A suitable lot near the chapel, but on the opposite side of the street, was purchased of Mr. William W. Herbert for five hundred and fifty dollars. The farm was sold for six thousand one hundred and ten dollars, and a pleasant home erected for the pastor's use. The building cost four thousand three hundred and twenty-five dollars; the necessary grading and fencing and outside improvements, about thirteen hundred dollars. The house is an ornament to the village, and with slight alterations, to be made in the future, will be as convenient and ample a dwelling- place as any one could desire.
The present pastor was called from the First Reformed Church of Bayonne City, N. J., the latter part of July, 1873. He commenced his labors the first Sabbath of September, and was installed the 7th day of October. The Rev.
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
Dr. Hageman presided, read the form and de- livered the charge to the pastor. The sermon, by request of Classis, was preached by the Rev. Ransford Wells, D.D., then of Brookfield, Conn., from Hebrews xiii. 17,-"Obey thein that have the rule over you, and submit your- selves, for they watch for your souls as they that must give account." The charge to the people was delivered by the Rev. James B. Wilson.
. Since 1709 the congregation has been in charge of teu pastors. They have been of various nationalities, and the record is amusing. Of Welsh, Hollandish, Swedish, French and English descent there has been one each ; of Scottish deseent, two; of American Dutch, three. The present pastor is the only oue "to the manor born,"-the only New Jersey Duteh- man, born, baptized, educated, licensed and ordained in the Reformed Church, who has ministered here.
Of the membership of the church, three have consecrated themselves to the gospel ministry. The first to do so was the Rev. William Schenck, who was born October 13, 1740. His parents were Court Sehenek and Maria Cowen- hoven. They lived on the farm now occupied by Mr. Uriah Smoek, and gave their child, William, to God in holy baptism, January 20, 1741. When twenty-three years of age he married Miss Anna Cummings, a daughter of Robert Cummings, high sheriff of Monmouth County, and a granddaughter of the wife of Rev. William Teunent. He eommeneed study- ing for the ministry in the fall of 1763, gradu- ated from the College of New Jersey, at Prinee- ton, in 1767, studied theology with Rev. William Tennent, and was licensed by the Pres- bytery of New Brunswick in 1770. He was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Allentown, N. J., in 1771. In 1777 he assumed the pastorate of the Reformed Churches of North and South Hampton, Pa., where he remained for three years. This was his only charge in the church of his fathers. In 1780 he removed to Pittsgrove, N. J., and became pastor of the Presbyterian Church in which Rev. Benjamin Dubois was baptized. After a ministry here of six years he settled at Ballston,
near Saratoga. Here he continued until 1793, when he removed to Huntington, L. I. This was his last pastorate. In 1817 he resigned his charge, retired from the active duties of the ministry, and moved to Franklin County, Ohio, where he died September 1, 1823, in the eighty- third year of his age. One of his grandsons has for many years been an admiral in the United States navy.
The other members of this church who have entered the ministry are the Rev. Garret C. Schenek, who united with the church February 2, 1827, and the Rev. Edward P. Livingstone, who united with the church in December, 1854, and who is laboring in the West with remark- able sueeess.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT MARLBOROUGH is of recent origin, as compared with many of the other religious organizations of the county. The first record of Baptist preaching in Marl- borough was by Rev. W. D. Hires, of Holm- del, who began some time in 1836, but how often and for what length of time there is no account. There were a few Baptists in the vieinity; among them was Miss Ella G. Her- bert, a member of the Freehold Baptist Church, who died October 16, 1861. In her last will she bequeathed five hundred dollars to purchase a lot upon which to ereet a house of worship for a Baptist Church, yet to be formed. As Do Baptist meetings were held in the place, no- thing was done until the spring of 1865, when Mr. O. C. Herbert, a brother of the deceased, purchased a small shoe-shop, placing it on Hudson Street, and fitted it up for a select school. Soon after, Rev. James Teed preached in the school-room. Hearing of this, Rev. D. S. Parmelee, of Freehold, appointed a meeting for the fourth Sunday in June, 1865, in the school-room, and preached from Matthew vi. 33, and was followed in remarks by Rev. Sidney Dyer, of the American Baptist Publica- tion Society, of Philadelphia, when a Baptist Sunday-school was organized, of fourteen scholars and six teachers. William C. Reid, of the Freehold Church, was chosen superin- tendent. The Rev. Mr. Dyer secured a doua- tion of ten dollars from the Publication Society,
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