History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 122

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 122

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! This history of the Brick Church is by the Rev. Theo- dore W. Wells.

2 Dominie Erickzon, when commencing the record of baptisms administered by himself. in 1736, says : " Bap- tismal record of the Reformed congregation of the Neve- zink." The whole region between the ocean and the Rari- tan River was known as the Navasink ; so called because occupied by a sub-tribe of the Lenape Indians, the Nava- sinks. This same region is sometimes called the Raritans. Families settling here are said to have removed to the " Raritans," on the old church records of Flatbush, Long Island.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Middletown,-one congregation, with families residing in the two townships of Freehold and Middletown and sometimes called the Congre- gation of the Navasink. The consistory was composed of Peter Van Deventer and John Wyckoff, elders, and Jacob Van Dorn and Garret Schenck, deacons. There were forty- nine in the communion of the church, forty- five of whom had been received by certificate and four by confession of faith in Christ.

The first installed pastor of a Reformed Church in New Jersey was Rev. Guillaume Bertholf, who was installed at Hackensack in 1694. The second pastor of a Reformed Church installed in the State was Rev. Joseph Morgan, at Freehold, in 1709.

Until 1826 there was no other Reformed Church in Monmouth County. Now there are nine, all of them the offspring of the old mother church, over which, in 1709, the Rev. Joseph Morgan was installed. At this time Mr. Morgan was pastor of the Scotch Presby- terian Church, the germ of the well-known Old Tennent Church. He was a Presbyterian min- ister and a Dutch dominie at the same time. When he appeared in court to take the neces- sary oaths as minister of the gospel, he was presented by representatives of both congrega- tions. These oaths were required because he was not a minister of the Church of England. According to "An Act of Parliament for exempting her Majesty's Protestant subjects dissenting from the church of England from the penalties of certain laws," every minister not in the communion of the English Church was obliged to take oath that he would not teach the doctrine of transubstantiation, nor anything contrary to the doctrine of the Trinity, as taught in the thirty-nine articles of the English Church. This was called " qualifying," and in this man- ner Dominie Morgan " qualified " himself in December, 1709, having been "presented by several of said congregation, viz., Jacob Laen, John Wikof, John Sutfin, William Hendrick- son, John Essmith, William Wilkins and Auri Mattison, in behalf of themselves and the rest of their brethren." The first three of these persons were in the communion of the Reformed Church ; the others represented the Scotch Presbyterians.

During his whole ministry Dominie Morgan was connected with the Presbytery of Phila- delphia, to which he was amenable. The circum- stances which led to his settlement among the Dutch were his ability to preach in the Low Dutch language, and the willingness of himself and the Scotch Presbyterians to give the Dutch three-fourths of his services,-an arrangement it would have been impossible to make had not the Dutch congregation been the most flourishing.

At this time Monmouth County was little less than a forest. Here and there was a clear- ing ; but the settlements were widely scattered, the streams unbridged and the roads not much more than paths through the wilderness. Horseback riding for many years was a neces- sity. In the latter part of his ministry Dominie Morgan, it is said, attracted attention by riding through the country in a two-wheeled cart or gig,-probably the first thing of the kind brought into the county.

Mr. Morgan was probably of Welsh origin. He was born in 1674. When twenty-three years of age he was ordained in Connecticut to the gospel ministry. He was thirty-five years old when becoming the pastor of this church. He had previously been settled over the Pres- byterian Churches of Bedford and East Ches- ter, in New York, and afterwards ministered to the churches of Hopewell and Maidenhead, N. J. He was persecuted in his ministry on ac- count of the manner of his ordination and his use of notes in preaching. He incurred the ill-will of Dominie Frelinghuysen, of Six-Mile Run, the most influential Dutch minister in this section of the State, by baptizing the children of some of the disaffected members of his con- gregation, who applied for such service. The baptismal register contains the record. In bit- ter retaliation, Dominie Frelinghuysen denounced him as "the friend and advocate of a lifeless, God-dishonoring formality." In 1728 various charges were brought against him, such as prae- ticing astrology, countenancing promiscuous daneing and transgressing in drink, but they were not sustained. About ten years after this intemperance was proved against him and he was suspended from the ministry. He was

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fully restored in 1738. Two years later, hav- ing heard George Whitefield preach, he was so affected with Whitefield's spirit that he went forth as an evangelist, proclaiming the gospel towards the sea-coasts of New Jersey and other places destitute of the means of grace. He died while engaged in these missionary labors, sixty-six years of age, and was laid to rest in a grave unknown.

He was a man of more than usual ability, a learned man and a scholar. He was the author of a number of printed sermons on various subjects, and published several theological treat- on the right-hand side of the turnpike, just as ises. A Latin letter written by him to Cotton " you cross the bridge near the mill in going from Mather, the most eminent clergyman of New the church to Marlborough, or on Hendrickson's England, bearing date 1721, is preserved at Worcester, Mass. The testimony of the con- sistory, at the time of his leaving this congre- gation, gives him a reputation for piety and ministerial fidelity scarcely equaled by any of the ministers at that time in the country.

In 1714, five years after the installation of Dominie Morgan, the land on which this build- ing stands, and the adjoining farm of Mr. Daniel P. Conover, became the property of the church. It was first bought of one Richard Salter, or Sadler, in 1709, for the sum of four hundred and fifty pounds, by Ghertie Romain, widow of Stoffell Romain, " for the use of the Dutch Presbyterian minister." In 1714 it was conveyed by Jacobus Romain, her son, to John Schenck and Cornelius Cowenhoven, of Mid- dletown, and Peter Tyson, of Freehold, in trust for the use of the congregation. Because of the uncertain tenure of lands and the conflict of titles at that carly day, the same property, with the addition of thirty acres, was deeded, in 1748, to Cornelius Van Der Veer, of Mid- dletown, and John Hans, of Freehold, "in trust for the Low Dutch congregation of Prot- estants, as the same was established by the Synod of Dort, in the years 1618-19, to be equally divided between the two congregations of Freehold and Middletown, both in quantity and quality." This deed was executed by Thomas Kinnan. The property was occupied by Dominie Morgan as a parsonage. It is described as containing "one hundred acres of good arable land, as good as any in Freehold, on | 1735,-Johannes Hanse and Lena Willemse, his wife.

which a family may subsist comfortably." Dominie Morgan, it is said, realized at least thirty pounds a year from his farming opera- tions, "besides his own bread." Its location is designated " five-quarters of an hour's distance from the water's edge, and the half of a quarter of an honr's distance from the church."

The question now arises, Where was the church located ? Two places are referred to as the probable site. The Rev. Aaron A. Marcel- lus says, in a book of historical notes, that the old church stood either on the brow of the hill,

Hill, the large knoll on which a solitary apple- tree is now growing, almost directly in the rear of the present parsonage at Marlborough. Be- tween these two places it is not difficult to de- cide. There is in the former place an old grave- yard, whose existence has probably led to the conclusion that a church once stood there. It was formerly known and called Hance's bury- ing-ground, and was a portion of the estate of John Hance,' one of the original proprietors under the Nicolls patent. This proves conclu- sively that the old church did not stand there. Burying-grounds invariably take the name of the church to which they belong. The tradi- tion which fixes the site of the old church on Hendrickson's Hill is probably correct. In traeing back the title to the property in ques- tion, it is found that more than a century ago a quarter of an aere of land, which takes in Hen- drickson's Hill, was deeded several times to different parties, until at length it became the property of Mr. John H. Smock, who owned the adjoining land. The building which for- merly stood on Hendrickson's Hill, and was taken down more than fifty years ago, was just such a building as a pioneer people would be likely to «rect as a house of worship. It was about twenty feet square, with a steep gable roof. The sides were shingled. The door was

1 Some persons think this name should be spelled Hans, pronounced Honce. If so, the property in question did not belong to the John Hanee mentioned, but to a Dutch family, whose name is found on the baptismal register in

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

in the middle of one of the sides, and was quite large. There was a window on each side of the door. There were no partitions within, but one room occupied the whole space. Such a build- ing would not have been ereeted for dwelling purposes. It was used as a dwelling in later years, but only after additions were built and alterations made. It was a very old building when taken down. It is also well known that fifty years ago, when the congregation was di- vided in opinion and sentiment concerning the location of the Brick Church, some wished to have it placed on Hendrickson's Hill. As at that time there was no village at Marlborough, the only apparent reason for such a desire is the faet, then better known than at present, that the first church stood there.

to the erection of the Middletown Church the only Reformed Church building in Monmouth County was the one located on Hendrickson's Hill, in the present township of Marlborough, then forming a part of the township of Free- hold. This is the reason why the congregation is always called, in the early church records, the congregation of " Freehold and Middletown." Dominie Morgan's ministry lasted twenty-two years. He received one hundred persons into the communion of the church, the first of whom, Jan Romain, Benjamin Keener, Derrick Barka- low and Janake, his wife, were received the 13th of May, 1711. He baptized five hundred and eighty-two infants, the first of whom was Abraham, son of Jacob Van Dorn, October 20, 1709. In 1721 a revival was enjoyed, when

At this time (1709) there was no house of twelve persons united with the church at one worship belonging to the Reformed Church at time. He preached his farewell sermon August 2, 1731. Middletown. The deed for the Middletown Church property was executed in 1723. This The Rev. Gerardus Haeghoort, a lieentiate of the Classis of Amsterdam, Holland, succeeded Mr. Morgan. He came in answer to a call sent by the consistory to the above-mentioned Classis, with the request that they would send them a suitable minister. Accompanying this eall there is an interesting description of such a minister as the consistory suppose would be acceptable to their people. He was to be a person of com- petent abilities, not more than thirty-five years of age, whether married or unmarried it mat- tered not. He was to be sound in the faith of the Reformed Church, well educated, exemplary and prudent. . was after the erection of the church. In de- scribing the property, the deed locates the place of beginning a certain number of chains "south- cast of the meeting-house." The date of the ereetion of the church is unknown. It was probably commeneed as early as 1721, as at that time there was a permanent increase in the num- ber of elders and deaeons composing the eon- sistory. This church was located about half a mile beyond the present Holmdel parsonage, on the road leading to Middletown village, near an old burying-ground. Some old papers in possession of Dr. William Reiley show eonelusively that it must have been built in The call also contained the following stipula- tions: The pastor is to preach in two places,- Freehold and Middletown,-on alternate Sab- baths, the two meeting-houses being "about an hour and a half's travel apart." He is to ob- serve New Year's day, Paas, Pinxter, Aseen- sion and Christmas days, " according to the eus- tom of a majority of the churches in this country." The Lord's Supper is to be adminis- tered quarterly and alternately in either church, the preparatory service having been held on the preceding Thursday. squares, without pews. There seems to have been eleven of these squares, besides benehes. There are still extant curious lists of these squares and their occupants, which show that the present congregation is, to a great extent, descended from those who reared the old build- ing. It was pulled down and destroyed in 1764. The property on which it stood was conveyed to Daniel Hendrickson and Johannes Polhemus by Andrew Johnson, ot Middle- town, in consideration of the sum of three pounds, " for the sole nse, benefit and behoof of For such services the consistory promise him the entire use of the parsonage and farm in the people belonging to the religious society known as the Dutch Presbyterians." Previous Freehold, "on which, in a short time, the

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church will be placed, not far from the minis- ter's house." They promise him annually seventy pounds good current money, in exact half-yearly payments,-a custom still in vogue. They also promise to repair the parsonage accord- ingly to the dominie's wishes, after his arrival, and likewise to furnish him with a good riding- horse. The congregation is described as "five- quarters of an hour's travel in breadth in the middle, and full three Dutch or twelve Eng- lish miles in length." And the consistory as- sure the Classis that if the minister they send is not accustomed to farming, " he could let the farm for two-thirds of its yield, or hire a far- mer for fifteen pounds, or by the assistance and instruction of friends, he would be able in a few years to manage the farm."

This call was signed by Jan Kowenhoven, Garret Schenck, Elbert Williamse and Corne- lius Wyekoff, elders, and Dirk Barkalow, Hen- driek Kip, Jan Van Mater, and William Covenhoven, deacons. It was moderated and attested by the Rev. Gaultherus Du Bois, who seems to have been very much in the esteem and confidence of the people. He was pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Church of New York City. " He was more like a bishop," says Dr. De Witt, " among the Dutch Churches, than pastor of a single organization."

Mr. Haeghoort, having accepted this call, was solemnly ordained by the laying on of hands, and installed pastor of the church of Freehold and Middletown by the Classis of Amsterdam, Holland. On the 9th of August, 1731, he was introduced to his charge by the Rev. Gaul- therus Du Bois, who preached a sermon on the occasion. Four years after his arrival he re- signed his call to become pastor of the Reformed Church at Second River (now Belleville) Essex county, N. J.

For fifteen years Mr. Haeghoort's relations to the church at Second River were delightful and pleasant. Dissatisfaction then took the place of harmony and love. The church-doors were closed against him, and he preached to a few friends from the steps of the church. His salary was withheld, and for so long a time that the possession of some property brought with him from Holland alone saved him from

needing the very necessaries of life. He main- tained his ground, triumphed over his enemies, and continued the pastor of the church until 1776, when he died, and was buried within the walls of the church, immediately in front of the pulpit.

During the first year of Mr. Haeghoort's ministry, and previous to September, 1732, the congregation commenced the erection of a house of worship on the site now occupied by the Brick Church. They were so evenly divided in sentiment and desire that at a meeting called for deciding the location of the church, they agreed that the church should stand on the site to which the first load of stone for building purposes was carted. It was late in the after- noon when the meeting adjourned, but Mr. Roeleff Schenck, more frequently called Black Roeleff, immediately went home, hitched up his team, gathered the stones and carted them to the lot on which this building stands. That decided the matter.

The building which the congregation erected on the site to which Roeleff carted the stones was a good, substantial edifice, nearly as large as the present one. There were three windows on each side, and a large double-arched door in the centre of the gable end facing the road. It had a steep, hip roof, surmounted by a small belfry, erowned with the four points of the com- pass and a large brass rooster. This is now in the possession of Mr. Asher Holmes. There were galleries extending about three-fourths of the length of each side, and entirely across the front. The building was ceiled within with boards standing on end. The ceiling overhead met from each side in the centre, from which a large wooden ornament resembling an acorn was pendant. The pulpit was small, but quite high. It was reached by a narrow flight of stairs, and over it hung a sounding-board to give volume and depth to the minister's voice. For many years there were no pews in the building. The congregation sat on benches, the men around the wall, the women in the centre. Some used double chairs, such as was generally used in wagons in those days, and may occasionally be seen even now about old farm-houses. Some of the families would ride to church in these

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

chairs, and then taking them out of their wagons, would carry them into church for use during service. Others kept such seats especially for use in the sanctuary. A great many would ride to church on horseback. One horse generally carried a man and his wife, and very frequently the baby also. Carriages were unknown. The first family carriage in this vicinity was owned by Mr. John H. Smock, and was purchased about eighty years ago. Farm-wagons without springs were thought to be comfortable. There were no means for heating the church. Stoves were not in existence. Private houses were made warm by the use of large fire-places, but churches were built without chimneys.

In this building the congregation worshiped more than ninety years. It was taken down in 1826 to make room for the present church edi- fice. Mr. Haeghoort continued the pastor of the church only four years, and when resigning his call, August 17, 1735, left one hundred and nineteen persons in the communion of the church, sixty-seven of whom were in the con- gregation of Freehold and fifty-two in that of Middletown.

The year following the resignation of Mr. Haeghoort the Rev. Reynhard Erickzon was recommended to the consistory by the Rev. Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen,1 of Raritan. The result is thus recorded in the handwriting of Mr. Frelinghuysen :

"In the year 1736, in December, a meeting of the Consistory was held at Freehold of the Navesink, at which were read the call of the Rev. Reynhard Erick- zon, and his honoroble dismission and certificate from the congregation at Schenectady. The which certifi- cate being found lawful and constitutional, the Rev. R. Erickzon was received and recognized as pastor and teacher of the congregation of Freehold and Middletown, by the Rev. Consistory of that place.

"T. J. FRELINGHUYSEN, President Pro Tem."

Dominic Erickzon was a Swede. He came to America in 1725. He was then about twen-

ty-five years of age. He sailed from Holland with his brother and sister in the ship "King George," Captain Saul Payton. He was first settled at Hackensack, Paramus and Schraalen- bergh, where his labors were very greatly blessed, and converts were multiplied. After a three years' ministry he removed to Schenec- tady, N. Y. He was married twice,-the first time, iu 1726, at Hackensack, to Maria Provost ; the second time, while settled here, in 1736, to Sarah Luyster, the widow of Rulif Brokaw, and daughter of Johannes Luyster and Lucretia Brower, who resided near Middletown village. In the latter part of his ministry-which lasted for twenty-seven years-he became a victim to the drinking customs of the day. The consistory made out charges against him, withheld his salary and excluded him from the pulpit. He continued to reside in the parson- age until 1770, six year after his successor was called. He then removed to New Brunswick, and resided with his daughter, Mrs. Van Nor- den. He died soon after this, and his widow returned to Middletown, her native place. His remains, it is said, were also conveyed to Mon- mouth County for burial. If so, he lies in an unknown grave, though worthy of being honored as one of the fathers of the American Reformed Church. An excellent portrait of him is in the possession of Rev. Garret C. Schenck.

In 1764, the same year in which Mr. Erick- zon's ministry elosed, Rev. Benjamin Du Bois, a young man, just licensed by the American Classis to preach the gospel, was called to occupy the vacant pulpit. There is no record to be found of his installation and ordination. He was born at Pittsgrove, Salem County, N. J., March 30, 1739, and was baptized in the Presbyterian Church there, in which his father was an elder. He was the son of Lewis Du Bois, a lineal de- scendant of the French Huguenots of New Paltz. His mother's name was Margaret Jan- sen, who was born in Kingston, of Low Dutch descent. He was educated at Poughkeepsie, and studied theology with Rev. Johannes H. Goetschius, of Hackensack, N. J. A short time after his settlement here he married Phemertje Denise, the daughter of Tunis Denise and Fran- cynthe Hendrickson, of Freehold, a woman of

1 The first minister of the Reformed Church in Central New Jersey, 1720. Gilbert Tennent, George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards speak of him as one of the great clivines of the American Church. Ile was the great- grandfather of the late Honorable Theodore Frelinghuysen, who for many years was president of Rutgers College .- See Corwin's Manual of the Reformed Church, p. 87.

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intelligence and activity, sprightly, prudent and the English language, in our church at Middle- town, shall have their request to the half of the service in that congregation." About twenty years after this, in 1785, it was resolved, in a pious. They had ten children,-four sons and six daughters,-all of whom were married, were highly respected for their virtuous principles and became members in full communion of the church council at Middletown, that the Dutch church. Four of them settled in this locality, and English preaching shall be in proportion and their descendents are very largely repre- sented here to-day.

to Dutch and English subscription for salary. The following year it was ascertained, in com- During the period of Mr. Du Bois' ministry! a new house of worship was erected at Middle-| town, on the place where the old one stood. The subscription for defraying the necessary ex- penses bears date February 28, 1764. This was in the midst of the Coetus difficulties, and pliance with this resolution, that the proportion of Dutch service should not be more than three Sabbaths a year, and it was left to the option of the pastor to make an address in English after the Dutch service. It was also " Resolved, that if, for want of Dutch singers, it seem expe- the decided Conferentia principles of the con- dient, the pastor, if he choose, may have Eng- gregation are manifested by the peculiar word- lish singing and preach in Dutch." The dominie certainly enjoyed the preaching in Dutch.

ing of the subscription. It is expressly stipu- lated, "The church for which we subscribe is to be the National Church of the High Synod of Dort, established in the years 1618 and 1619." The house of worship thus erected was known for many years as the Red Meeting- House. It corresponded in size with the one at Frechold, and was very much such a build- ing. It was used for divine worship until the erection of the Holmdel Church.

In 1785 the church building at Freehold was repaired and improved. A chimney was built and a large stove purchased. The rude benches which had formerly been used were taken out and replaced with pews. To meet this expense, the pews were sold at public auction. The terms of the sale are carefully penned in the handwriting of the pastor. From these it appears all right and title to a pew should cease so soon as a pew-holder or his heirs should cease to pay for the support of the minister.

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History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 122

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