History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 114

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 1148

USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth county, New Jersey > Part 114

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Just fifty years ago to-day Since this true marriage was declared, And looking back o'er all the way, How great the bounties you have shared !

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Blest in your basket and your store, In children's filial love and care ; And Heavenly guidance, even more Than all the others, is your share.

Sickness and pain you each have borne, Afflictions, too, in wisdom given, Dear kindred from your hearts been torn, Exchanging earth for brighter heaven.

One little boy beneath the sod, In early life was called away ; You gave it back in faith to God To meet it in a brighter day.

One other child by marriage tie Has gone to wear a Heavenly crown-

Thus, two are singing songs on high And six still cluster round your home.

Your children to three trades belong- One teacher, one miller and farmers four ;

Sixteen grandchildren range along, In years from five up to a score.

You still are hale and hearty, too, And blest content illumes your eye ;

"Tis hopeful that to each of you The years may pass as peacefully.

That creeping age may distant be, Rheumatic pains be vanished far, And in your grandchildren's glee May you enjoy a copious share.

Your numerous kindred here to-night All add best wishes, kind and true :

A happy home, a hearth-stone bright And blessings copious as the dew.

And when the years their course have run, And each and all been gathered home, May each a crown bright as the sun Wear joyfully around the throne.

CHAPTER XXIII.

MANALAPAN TOWNSHIP.

MANALAPAN1 is one of the border townships

1 Gordon says Manalapan means good bread, a place producing things to make good bread, a good country. Judge MeLean says, according to tradition, it means good land. Both doubtless convey substantiatly the Indian meaning. The name is probably derived from Indian words signifying a place where there was water to drink and where bread could be raised, from manel or menel, drink or drinking, and pan from paune or ponc, a well- known Indian word for bread. Such a place the Indians considered a good country, good land to locate upou,

of Monmouth County, adjoining the county of Middlesex, which forms its entire north western boundary. On the northeast it is bounded by the township of Marlborongh, ou the east and southeast by Marlborough and Frechold town- ships and on the southwest by the township of Millstone. The Manalapan and Matchaponix Creeks, Wemrock Brook and several other small tributaries flow northwestwardly through the township into Middlesex County, where they mingle their waters with those of South River, the southern branch of the Raritan. The only railway line of the township is that of the Jamesburg and Freehold Agricultural Rail- road, which passes through it in a north westerly and sontheasterly direction. The population of the township by the United States eensus ot 1880 was two thousand one hundred and seventy-five.

Manalapan was taken from Freehold town- ship in 1848, its boundaries, as described by the act ereeting it, being as follows :

"Beginning at Asher Smith's tavern, at the south- east corner of the township of Millstone, in the road leading from Mount Holly to Freehold, and from thence running along the middle of said road north- wardly to the mouth of the road leading to Black's Mills; thence in a northwardly course to a stone planted in the middle of the road leading from Eng- lishtown to Frechold, said stone being the corner of the farms now owned by William T. Sutphin and that of John E. Gordon ; thence north, forty degrees and thirty seconds east, till it strikes the line of the town- ship of Marlborough; thence along the southerly line of Marlborough until it strikes the boundary line between the counties of Monmouth and Middlesex; thence following said boundary line southwardly to the northeast corner of the township of Millstone; thence along the southern boundary line of said town- ship to the place of beginning."

Following is a list of the chosen freeholders of Manalapan township from its erection to the present time, viz. :

1848-50. Joseph Ely. 1850-55. John M. Perrine.

1856-59. Samuel Vaughn.

1860-64. James A. Perrinc. 1865-72. Samuel C. Bowne.

1873-81. Joseph Ely.

1882-84. Elias Van Derveer.

The first settlements in this township were

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MANALAPAN TOWNSHIP.

made by Scotch people, who, coming into Mon- mouth County as early as 1685, located at first along the Middlesex County border, in the pres- ent townships of Matawan and Marlborough, spread rapidly thence towards the southwest, through what was then Freehold township, embracing the present territory of Manalapan.

The oldest house in this township is the an- eient mansion now occupied by Mrs. Achsah Hendrickson, and standing about four miles southwest of Frechold town. It was built in the year 1702 by Cornelius Thomson, and re- mained for more than a century in possession of the Thomson family. It is a stone structure, with walls two feet thick; still in good condi- tion, and apparently as solid as when erected. The ceilings are of clear yellow pine. In the old kitchen (which has been torn away) was a door, the wrought-iron latch of which bore the rudely-cut figures and letters, "1702, C. E. T.," the initials being said to mean "Cornelius and Elizabeth Thomson." In 1710, on the first Monday in March, an election of free- holders was held in this house, and mention is found in the records of public meetings being held at the same house, from that time, at least as late as 1723. The Thomson farm em- braced five hundred acres of land, which was sold in 1844, three hundred acres being pur- chased by Enoch Hendrickson, and the remain- der being sold in smaller tracts. A part of it, now in possession of Clark Clayton, embraced a half-acre of land on which was the Thomson burial-place. On this half-acre was a grove of chestnut-trees, and it was provided that the nuts from these trees should be sold, and the proceeds applied to keeping the burial-plat properly fenced.

The "Old Tennent Church " is situated in Manalapan township, about three miles north- west from Freehold, and two miles southeast of Englishtown. This is the most widely cele- brated and historic house of religious worship in Monmouth County, if not in all the State of New Jersey, because of its Revolutionary as- sociations and the ability and devotional fame of ministers who spent the greater part of their lives in pious labor within its walls.

The old church edifice, which is now more than one hundred and thirty years old, is the successor of an okler church that was built on the same site before the birth of George Wash- ington, and which was, in fact, the successor of the still more ancient "Scots Meeting-House," which, however, did not occupy the same site, but stood some miles farther north, in what was then the township of Freehold, but now Marl- borough, where the place is still marked by the relies of the old "Seots burying-ground," though the last vestiges of the old meeting-houses had disappeared years before the birth of any now living. This old meeting-house was built in 1692. The first of the churches built on the " White Hill" site (where the Tennent Church now stands) was erected under a permit granted by King George in 1727; was finished in 1730, and dedicated April 18, 1731. Its successor, the present church, was built in 1752, and first occupied early in 1753.

The name "Old Scots Meeting-House " indi- cates correctly the nationality of its original congregation. They were Scotch emigrants, who set out from their native country in Sep- tember, 1685, in the ship " Caledonia." The vessel had a tempestuous passage, but at length made the port of Perth Amboy. The passengers had encountered so much of suffering during the voyage that, though they had first intended settling further south, they determined to re- main in New Jersey. Many of them came to Monmouth County and settled. Being faithful adherents of the Church of Scotland, they soon formed a church, " which was the first one settled with the gospel ministry in East Jersey, west [south ] of the Raritan River."1 The exact date of their organization has not been ascer- tained, but their meeting-house was built in 1692, as before mentioned.

They were styled the Presbyterian Congre- gation of Freehold, which township at that time embraced the site of their place of worship, as also that of the two later edifices. In De- cember, 1705, " At ye Request of Mr. John Craig, Walter Ker, William Rennel, Patrick

1 This statement has frequently been made, but there is some doubt as to its entire accuracy, though the error, if any, is but slight.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Imlay, in behalf of themselves and their Breth- ren, protestants, desenters of frechold, called Presbiterions, that their Public Meeting-house may be recorded," it was accordingly recorded, as follows : " The Meeting-House for Religious Worship, belonging to the Protestant disenters called ye Presbiterians of ye Town of Freehold, In ye County of Monmouth, in ye Province of New Jersey, is Scituate, built, lying and being at and upon a piece of rising Ground or little hill, commonly known and called by the name of free hill, in sª town."

The first pastor of the Scotch congregation was the Rev. John Boyd, who was qualified for the pastoral office, by the court on the 29th of May, 1706. He died in 1708, and was suc- ceeded as pastor by the Rev. Joseph Morgan, who appeared before the court in September, 1709, and asked to be qualified, which was done on the 6th of December following, on which occasion the pastor was accompanied in court by seven persons, presumably members of his con- gregation, viz. : John Lane, John Wikoff, John Sutfin, William Hendrickson, John Esmuth, William Williams and Avri Marbison. More extended mention of Mr. Morgan, and of his connection with the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches, is made in the history of the Brick Church, in Marlborough township.

Mr. Morgan continued to serve the Presby- terian Church for about nineteen years, after which it appears that some disagreement arose which resulted in the severing of the pastoral relation. This disagreement with Mr. Morgan ; the appointment and ordination of his successor, the Rev. John Tennent, in 1730, and his death in April, 1732; the call to the Rev. William Tennent, Jr., and his ordination as pastor in 1733, as also the erection and occupation (April, 1731) of the first house of worship at White Hill, the site of the present Tennent Church, are all re- ferred to in the following extracts, taken from the original church record, by Mr. R. P. Craig, viz. :

" The minutes of Freehold congregation, Beginning Tuesday, June 9th, 1730.

"June 9th, afsd, The congregation met and chose John Henderson To be their clerk, and Charles Gordon, Timothy Lloyde, Jonithan Forman, Robert Cumming and John Henderson as helps To Walter Ker and John Hutton, Elders, or to Represent the

congregation ; Capt. Archabald Craig & William Ker, for Trustees for the money that the congregation has in Bank; Wm. Ker & Samuel Ker, chosen as Deacons, or to take care of the collections untill Dea- cons be Ordained. Monday, July 20th, the Elders & Representatives above mentioned met at the House of Charles Gordons and agreed to build a meeting- House between Wm. Ker's Barrs and Rockey Hill Bridge; also that the Revd. Mr. John Tennent year Begin the 15th day of April last past, viz., 1730.

" August the 3th, at a meeting of the congregation at Wm. Ker's House, agreed that the services be one Sabbath at the upper Meeting-House, and so to con- tinue successively. Also that Diligence be used to get subscriptions for the Building the meeting House, and that the Old or lower meeting-House To be re- paired with all Haste that can be; William Kerr & John Henderson to be clear of all charges Towards the Old Meeting-House, in consideration of their charges in going to New Castel Presbeterie ; that John Hutton bring in his accompt of charges that he was at in his going to synod & Presbeteries, &c., for the congregation ; That said accompt be paid out of the collection moneys.

"Saturday, August the 29th, 1730, The Elders & Representatives met at the House of David Rhea & chose for undertakers or managers, in Building the meeting-House, Wm. J. (illegible), Jonithan Forman, Timothy Lloyd, Archabald Craig, David Rhe, William Kerr & John Henderson, who is to go on Building with all the speed possible after this sowing time is over, and the congregation is to give each man Their Bill or Bond to the said Managers to enable them to go on with the work. The Meeting-House is to be made Forty feet long and Thirty feet wide, and each of the Builders to have one seat in it above their common Due.

" October 15th, 1730, The Revd. Mr. Joseph Mor- gan (having made a complaint against this congrega- tion that They owed him above £200 arrears of Sallerie) met the congregation at the old Scots meet- ing-Ilouse, where accompts were fairly made up, and Mr. Morgan gave the congregation a Discharge in full. The copy which is received, October 15th, 1730, from the congregation Freehold, full satisfaction To This Day for all sallerie Due him as their Pastor, Joseph Morgan.

" A true copy by me, John Henderson, Clerk, Tues- day, November 19th, 1730. There the Presbytry, or a committee of the same, met at the Scots Meeting- Ifouse, and after fasting and prayer, and strict ex- amination and full approbation, Did ordain the Rev. Mr. John Tennent. The Ministerial charge in this congregation, William Tennent, Jonethan Dickinson, Joseph Morgan and Gilbert Tennent. The names of the committee for the congregation was Walter Kerr, Robert Cumming, John Henderson, Robert Newell, - Wilson, George Walker, Timothy Lloyde and Charles Gordon.

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MANALAPAN TOWNSHIP.

"April 18th, 1731, was The first Time That there was servise in the new meeting-House on White Hill. April 28th, 1731, l'aid the Revd. Mr. John Tennent £19 17s. 11d. May 3th, 1731, Charles Gordon was ordained an Elder of this congregation. Jonithan Forman, Archabald Craig, Esqrs., & Timothy Lloyd having Declined serving as managers in carrying on the meeting-Ilouse, Aaron Mattison, of his own free will, served, and the said Mattison, Together with David Rhea, William Kerr and John Henderson, carry on the work which is now enclosed and glazed. 1731, November 13th, paid Mr. Tennent, of Sallarie, £21 1s. 1731-32, March Stb, paid Do. £19 158. 2d. Lords Day, April 23, 1732, The Revd. & Dear Mr. John Tennent Departed this Life between 8 & 9 of the elock in The morning, and was Burried on The Tuesday following, a mournful Providence & eanse of great Humility To This poor congregation, To be bereaved of the flour of youth, The most Laborious, successful, well qualifide Pastor This age aforeded, Tho but a youth of 25 years, 5 months & 11 days of age, After which we lived Destitute of a Pastor or any constant supply until 8 day, 1732, wben the Revd. Mr. Wm. Tennent, Jun., after much Reluc- tance, was prevailed upon to settle amongst us, at Least for a time. Saturday, March 10th, 1732-33, The Elders & The Major part of the Representatives met at the House of David Rhea & chose collectors to collect the Ministers Sallerie for the ensuing year, Mr. Charles Gordon, Jonithan Forman, Robert Cum- ming, Samuel Ker & John Henderson, with John Hutton for the fresh Bonds. Saturday, September 8th, 1733, David Rhea & Robert Cummings was chosen our commissioner to Present a call To the Reverend Mr. William Tennent, Jun., at the Synod of Philadelphia, which call Mr. Tennent accepted. Thursday, October 25th, 1733, a committee of Presbtrey met at White Hill Meeting-Honse, and, after examination and approbation, Did, with Fasting and Prayer, and Laying on of Hands, Ordain the Revd. Mr. Will". Tennent, Jun., to the Pastoral charge in this congregation."

William Tennent, Jr., the fourth pastor of the First Presbyterian (Tennent) Church .of Freehold, was born in Ireland, June 5, 1705, and was the second son of Rev. William Ten- nent, Sr., who came from Ireland to America in 1716, bringing with him his four sons,-Gil- bert, William, John and Charles. He first set- tled in Westchester County, N. Y., and then moved to Bucks County, Pa., and founded the "Log College." He was a man of rare attain- ments and of strong mind. He and all his sons became conspicuous in the early Presbyterian Church of this country, by reason of their high

attainments, as also, in greater degree, because of their deep piety and the active part which they took in the propagation of the gospel.

William Tennent, Jr., received his education from his father, in the " Log College," in Bucks County, Pa., and there he soon became a fluent scholar in the Latin and Greek languages. At an early age he determined to prepare for the ministry, and studied with his brother Gilbert, at New Brunswick. By too close application to study his health failed, and he became fearfully emaciated and discouraged. One day, while in conversation with his brother Gilbert, he fell, fainted, and, to all appearances, died. He was prepared for interment, and the neighbors were invited to attend his funeral. His physician, who was very much attached to him, was absent from home at the time, but returned before the time for burial, and could not be indueed to be- lieve that Tennent was really dead. He stayed by the body constantly three days and nights, and, at his urgent request, the funeral was post- poned several times. At last Gilbert insisted that the funeral should take place without further delay. The doctor pleaded for another hour, then a half, and then a quarter, and when he was giving up in despair, William Tennent, to the utter astonishment of every one in the room, opened his eyes and gave a terrible groan, and again relapsed into his former condition ; in a quarter of an hour he gave another groan, and again became insensible. Finally, he recovered enough to speak, but it was six weeks before he could leave his bed or his friends entertain any hope of his recovery, and a whole year before he recovered completely. He had lost his memory entirely, and was obliged to be- gin with the alphabet again, and go through his studies as if he had never seen a book.

He said, in conversation with some friends, that the three days he was in the trance seemed to him only as a few minutes. He felt as if eanght by some invisible power and carried up; away in the distance he beheld a sight of inex- pressible glory, indescribable and beautiful. His first thought was, "Blessed be God, I am saved at last." His agony and disappointment were great when his heavenly conductor informed him that he must return to earth. Then he gave

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

a groan, and as he opened his eyes, saw his brother Gilbert and the doctor, and heard then disputing about his burial.1

After he recovered he was licensed to preach in Philadelphia, and afterward supplied the place of his brother John, in the First Presbyte- rian Church of Freehold. He preached six months for his brother, and was then called to that charge himself, and after one year's trial was, on October 25, 1733, settled over the church as its regular pastor, as has already been mentioned. Some of the names of the princi- pal families who attended his ordination were Craig, Anderson, Watson, Covenhoven (Cono- ver), Ker, Gordon, Lloyd, Wilson, Henderson, -- Forman, Crawford, Little, Campbell, Newell, -- Rhea and English,-names which have since been among the most prominent in the county.

The salary at which Mr. Tennent was en- gaged was one hundred pounds per annum. There was a large and valuable farm at- tached to the parsonage ; but Tennent, trust- ing his business to servants, and taking no interest whatever in temporal affairs, soon became involved in debt. A gentleman sug- · gested that he should have a good wife. Tennent said he knew nothing about such mat- ters. It was finally arranged that Tennent should go to New York and get introduced to a sister-in-law of this gentleman, which he did a few days afterward, and as his time was pre- cious, proposed to the lady at once, and within one week from the time she first saw Tennent was installed mistress of the Tennent parsonage. She, by her tact and management, rescued the farm from debt, and proved an excellent wife.

In 1753, the year of the completion of the present edifice, there was a great revival in the church, and again a remarkable one in 1757. It was Mr. Tennent's custom to spend the time between services on Sunday in the underbrush,

near the church, praying in secret and reflecting on the mercies of God. One Sunday he swooned and fell senseless. Time passed, and the elders found him there, and carried him to the church and assisted him to the pulpit. It was on this occasion that he preached that memorable, thrilling sermon which he always after de- lighted to call his "harvest," and which was the direct means of the conversion of thirty per- sons.

After having faithfully served the church as its pastor for more than forty-three years, Mr. Tennent died unexpectedly, after a short illness, at the old parsonage, in the seventy-second year of his age. Being taken suddenly ill, he sent for his friend, Dr. Henderson, who was just starting for Haddonfield, where the Legislature was to meet, of which he was a member. He, however, stopped in his way there and saw Mr. Tennent, but gave no hopes of his recovery. On hearing this, Mr. Tennent said, " Blessed be God, I have no wish to live if it should be his will and pleasure to call me hence," and then, after a moment's silence, he varied the expression thus, " Blessed be God, I have no wish to live if it should be his will and pleasure to call me henec, unless it should be to see a happy issue to the severe and arduous controversy my country is engaged in ; but even in this, the will of the Lord be done." On returning from the Legis- lature Dr. Henderson called and stayed with his friend and patient till the latter's death, on the 8th of March, 1777. He said that Mr. Tennent on his death-bed seemed to have the other world opened before him and to have already a fore- taste of heaven.

Of the character of Mr. Tennent the Rev A. P. Cobb, pastor of the church, said, in a memo- rial sermon preached in 1877 : " He was a man of common sense and of plain thought. He was not an enthusiast, but labored faithfully and patiently. He was a pastor consecrated wholly to his work, humble, meek, a man of purity. The people called him the peace-maker, and from far and near they came to him to settle their disputes. He was not in favor of compromising with the powers and pretences of a wicked world. He was an advocate of revi- vals of religion, and was in full sympathy with

1 It was' twenty-nine years after the death of William Tennent, Jr., before any sketch or memoir of his life ever appeared in public print. Elias Boudinot, LL.D., was the first to write his history from materials furnished by Dr. Henderson, an elder of the Tennent Church. The identi- cal manuscript is now in Princeton, in one of the college libraries. This account of Mr. Tennent's remarkable trance was first published in the Evangelical Intelligencer, of Philadelphia, from the pen of Dr. Boudinot.

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MANALAPAN TOWNSHIP.

Whitefield's work, when that great revivalist was in this country. Mr. Tennent was a Chris- tian patriot. A man is not fit to be a patriot unless he is a Christian patriot. To the day of his death he was an ardent supporter of the colonies in their struggles to shake off the op- pressive sway of England. He passed away and ascended to a bright home above before seeing the smoke of battle rolling around his earthly home. Mr. Tennent was eminently qualified to be a faithful minister, both by reason of his superb natural endowments and his at- tainments as a scholar. He could employ spir- itual deviees to convert men. Furthermore, he was a man chastened by sorrow, having lost two of his sons after they had grown to manhood. Mr. Tennent, as a pastor, was honored by time and place. He had the whole county as his charge. He planted in this county the seeds of a noble Christian influence, which continue to bring blessings to us. He lived the life and died the death of the righteous. An old man full of years, he was gathered to his fathers. Throughout his whole life he seemed to have this saying ever sounding on the car of his soul, 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.' "

The Rev. John Woodhull succeeded Mr. Tennent as pastor of the church in 1779. In the same year he established a classical school,1 which was taught in a small red house that stood near the parsonage gate. It was continued about fifteen years and obtained a wide celebrity. Mr. Woodhull was scarcely less famed for his piety, zeal and efficiency as the pastor of this church than was his predecessor, Mr. Tennent. Hle continued in the pastorate for forty-five years, and died, November 22, 1824, at the age of eighty years. He was succeeded by the Rev. Job F. Halsey, who was, in turn, succeeded by the Rev. Robert Roy. Both these pastorates were of comparatively short duration. The Rev.

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History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 114

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co. Number of Pages: 1148

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 1148