History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 91

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 91

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James Ashton was probably ordained in 1688, at the time the church was recognized. The Rev. Thomas Killingsworth assisted in the services at that time. It is probable that Ashton died before the meeting of the council hereafter mentioned, as his name does not ap- pear in the list of signers or non-signers on that occasion. Morgan Edwards says, -

"But in the year 1711 a variance arose in the church, insomuch that one party excommunicated the other and imposed silence on two gifted brothers that preached to them,-viz., John Bray and John Okison. Wearied with their situation, they agreed to refer matters to a council congregated from neigh- boring churches. The council met May 12, 1712. It consisted of Rev. Messrs. Timothy Brooks, of Cohan- sey; Abel Morgan1 and Joseph Wood, of Pennepeck;

1 The Abel Morgan here mentioned as a member of the council held in 1712 was not the person of the same name who afterwards became pastor of this church, the latter having been born in 1713. The Rev. Abel Morgan, Sr., was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, about the year 1673.

528

HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

and Elisha Thomas, of Welsh Tract; with six elders, -viz., Nicholas Johnson, James James, Griffith Mills, Edward Church, William Bettridge and John Man- ners. Their advice was, 'To bury the proceedings in oblivion and erase the records of them;' accord- ingly four leaves are torn out of the church-book.1 ' To continue the silence imposed on John Bray and John Okison the preceding year.' One would think by this that these two brethren were the cause of the disturbance. 'To sign a covenant relative to their future conduct ;' accordingly forty-two did sign and twenty-six refused; nevertheless most of the non- signers came in afterwards; but the first forty-two were declared to be the church that should be owned by sister churches. 'That Messrs. Abel Morgan, Sen., and John Burrows should supply the pulpit till the next yearly meeting, and the members should keep their places and not wander to other societies,' for at this time there was a Presbyterian congregation at Middletown and mixed communion in vogue."

The successor of the Rev. James Ashton was the Rev. John Burrows, of whom Edwards says,-

"He was born at Taunton, in Somerset, and there ordained ; arrived in Philadelphia in the month of November, 1711, and from thence came to Middle- town in 1713, where he died in a good old age. He left but one child behind him, and she married into the Russel family. Mr. Burrows is said to have been a happy compound of gravity and facetiousness : the one made the people stand in awe of him, while the other produced familiarity. As he was travelling one day a young man passed by him in full speed ; and, in passing, Mr. Burrows said, 'If you consider whither you are going you would slacken your pace.' He went on ; but presently turned back to enquire into the meaning of that passing salute. Mr. Burrows reasoned with him on the folly and danger of horse- racing (to which the youth was hastening) : he gave attention to the reproof. This encouraged Mr. Bur- rows to proceed to more serious matters. The issue was a sound conversion. Here was a bow drawn at a venture ; and a sinner shot flying! Mr. Burrows's successor was Rev. Abel Morgan, A.M. He was born in Welshtract, Apr. 18, 1713 : had his learning at an

When he was nineteen years of age he began to preach and was ordained at Blaenegwent, in Monmonthshire. He was a brother of Enoch Morgan, of the Welsh Tract Church, and half-brother of Benjamin Griffith, of Montgomery Church. He was a son of the renowned Morgan of Rhyd- darch of Griffyd of Dafydd. lle came to America in Feb- rnary, 1711, and preached alternately at Pennepek, Pa., and Philadelphia. He died December 16, 1722, aged forty- nine years, having served the Pennepek Church continu- ously from the time of his arrival in America.

I The church-book is in possession of the pastor.

academy kept by Rev. Thomas Evans, in Pencader : ordained at Welshtract church in the year 1734 : be- came pastor of Middletown in 1738: died there Nov. 24, 1785. He was never married: the reason (it is supposed) was that none of his attention and attend- anee might be taken off of his mother, who lived with him, and whom he honoured to an uncommon degree. Mr. Morgan was a man of sound learning and solid judgment. He has given specimens of both in his public disputes and publications on the subject of baptism : at Kingwood, Rev. Samuel Harker chal- lenged him on the subject. The other dispute was at Cape-may in 1743. The occasion was as follows: about 1712 there was at the Cape a remarkable stir of the religious kind : this stir was owing partly to the preaching of Baptist ministers and partly to the la- bours of Presbyterian ministers of the new light order : but some of the one party's converts joining the other party caused a howling among the losing shep- herds, and issued in a public challenge: Mr. Morgan accepted the challenge :- his antagonist was Rev. (afterwards Dr.) Samuel Finley, the contest ended as usual, viz. in double triumph : but two things hap- pened to mar the glory of the day ; one was a remark that a stander by was heard to make: he was a deist and therefore a disinterested person : 'The little man [said he] is thrown down, and his antagonist will not let him rise for another tussle.' Another damper was that an elder and deacon, &c., were convinced that the cause of the one party was naught by the labours used to support it."

In the old church-book is the following record, made at the time of Mr. Morgan's death :

"The Rever'd Mr. Abel Morgan was born in the State of Delaware, April the 18th, 1713. He departed this life November the 24th, 1785, near 6 o'clock in the afternoon, in the township of Middletown, county of Monmouth, State of New Jersey.

" After five months' sore and tedious afflictions of several bodily disorders, this eminent servant of God and faithful minister of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ gave up the Ghost. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 'O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?' (1 Cor. 15: 55.) 'Say ye to the Righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.' (Isa. 3: 10.)

"This great man died in the 73d year of his age. His age in particular was 72 years, seven months and six days. In his public ministry he was faithful, great and engaged in the service of his Lord and Master; in his private life a kind friend to the poor, a great advocate for the oppressed, a father to the fatherless, agreeable in his life and conversation. Upon the whole we may say this in truth of him,- he was an example of examples.

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MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP.

"Fifty-one years of the Rever'd Mr. Abel Morgan's life were spent in the public ministry; forty-seven years of his lifetime he was minister of the Church at Middletown. He was ealled early in life to that sacred function.

""One that feared God and eschewed evil.' (Job 1 :1.) Further, David saith : 'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standetli in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the seornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night.' (Ps. 1:1.)

"The Rever'd Mr. Abel Morgan's funeral sermon was preached on Sunday, the 27th day of November, in the meeting-house, in Middletown, by Mr. Peter Wilson, from the 4th chapter of the 2d Epistle to Timothy, 7th and 8th verses. 'I have fought a good tight,' &c. (both verses quoted).

"After sermon, the body of the Rever'd Mr. Abel Morgan was decently buried before a respectable number of people in the Presbyterian yard, in Mid- dletown."

The "yard" referred to lies on the south side of the broad street running through the village, in the northeast corner of Dr. Edward Taylor's farm, and adjoining Mrs. Adeline Hendrickson's on the west. Here, among the old graves, a plain slab of marble marks the last resting- place of this man of God. The inscription on the stone is a whole volume:

"In memory of Abel Morgan, pastor of the Baptist church at Middletown, who departed this life Novem- ber 24. 1785, in the 73d year of his age. His life was blameless, his ministry was powerful; he was a burn- ing and shining light, and his memory is dear to the saints."

The Rev. E. J. Foote, a former pastor of the church, in an article on Mr. Morgan, says,-

" He was a strong man in this regard, so considered by his co-workers. The Middletown Church held its associational connection with the churches in and about Philadelphia; was one of the five churches which formed that association in 1707. There were able men in that body in Mr. Morgan's day, but the Middletown pastor seemed to be looked up to, and of- ten to be put forward to preach the annual sermons and give the address on important occasions. In a printed volume of the minutes. of the Philadelphia Association for the first hundred years, Mr. Morgan is seen to be one of the leading men of his denomination. His papers are sound in doctrine, clear and logical. He was often elected to fill the offices of the body, and particularly in the later years of his ministry does he seem to have been more highly honored by his brethreu.

"Mr. Morgan was a strong defender and an earnest propagator of the doctrines of his denomination. At one time he held a discussion for two days on the suh- ject of baptism, at Kingwood, with the Rev. Samuel Harker. At another time he had a long controversy at Cape May with Rev. Samuel Finley, afterward president of Princeton College. This controversy was of Mr. Finley's seeking, he proposing to Mr. Morgan a public debate, each preaching a sermon alternately. It was a spirited discussion, lasting some days, and was finally transferred to the press. On Mr. Morgan's side the discussion grew into two volumes, the second of which we have in his library, which hegave to the church. The perusal of these works shows a strong and logieal mind, a cultivated talent for writing and a clear grasp of Scripture truth. As a matter of course, the friends of each disputant claimed the victory, but Mr. Edwards reports the remarks of a 'stander by,' a Mr. Leman, 'a deist and therefore a disinterested person.' 'The little man (said he) is thrown down, and his antagonist will not let him rise for another tussle.' Mr. Finley was the little man. An elder and a deacon of Mr. Finley's were convinced and went over to Mr. Morgan's side. It was one of the notable discussions of the day. Mr. Morgan's books were printed by Benjamin Franklin and D. Hall, in Mar- ket Street, Philadelphia, 1750."

" Mr. Morgan was an ardent patriot in the times of our Revolution. There were many Tories in this part of the State; some in his church, as the records show, but there was no double-face nor dough-face in the preacher. His sermons, which are still preserved, show this,-on Dec. 18, 1777, he preached from Hosea x. 12: 'It is time to seek the Lord.' Among the reasons presented why it was time to seek the Lord was the 'Dispersion among the churches occasioned by the enemy's coming in among them, of discord and contention among neighbors, relations and people, of war in our land, our bleeding, weeping land.' This was preached 'on a day of humiliation appointed by the Continental Congress on account of the war, and also to give thanks to God for victory over the enemy.'

"In a sermon preached Mar. 15. 1778, speaking of God as delivering from imminent dangers and death, he says,-'Such as in this town from our combined enemies; in this continent by the defeat and impris- ment of a whole division of an army with their Gen- eral, Burgoyne; a most remarkable escape from death.'

" May 28, 1778, he preached 'in a funeral of a young man, John Pierce, who was slain by the enemy.' And May 29th, 1778, 'in a funeral of Leonard Hoffe, slain by the enemy murderously.' 'June 22, 1778, at the Court-House, in Freehold, at the request of some prisoners, I preached to eight under the sentence of death-a moving sight.'' Text-] Timothy 1 : 15.

I Two or three days after this, on intelligence being re-

520

HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

On June 28th, 1778, Mr. Morgan preached from Ps. 62 : 8,-' Trust in Him at all times.' This was the day the battle of Monmouth was fought, and probably the roar of cannon was heard during the services. Mr. Morgan made this record on the sermon,-'At Mid- dletown, the very day the English army came into the neighborhood in the evening.' It was a sermon to in- spire hope and trust in God; what those who heard needed most to hear at that time, for doubtless their sons and husbands, brothers and fathers were on the fields where those caunon were booming.

"The enemy came into the village in the evening of that Sabbath, pouring down Rnekman's Hill, where are now the Osborn and the Beekman mansions. On July 5, 1778, the next Sabbath, Mr. Morgan made this , and this was all he had saved for himself in a life- record, -. There was no meeting on this Lord's day, time. because of the enemy passing thro' onr town the week " In his feebleness and old age the church cared for him. In the old records of the church we find this: 'Agreed, there should be a man hired at the expense of the said church members, for one, two or three months, as the occasion may require, for the benefit and service of the Rev. Mr. Abel Morgan, in his in- firm and low state of body, and the expense of wages for the hire of said man so employed shall be levied on each member according to their estate.' past, putting all in confusion by their ravaging and plundering wherever they went.' On July 19, 1778, he preached from Ezra 9: 13-14, -- ' And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds,' &c.,-and puts this note upon his MISS.,-' At Middletown, in mine own barn, because the enemy had took out all the seats in the meeting-house in town.' He preached twice in 'mine own barn' that day, from the same text. From this he preached in several places up to Aug. 16, 1778, when again he preached in his barn. Aug. 30th, he preached in the meeting-house, after which there is no further reference to war disturb- ances.

" At an earlier date we find some references to the French war in which England was engaged, in which Mr. Morgan shows his loyalty to the Crown. We give these two: 'Nov. 22, 1759, at Middletown, on a day of thanksgiving appointed by his Excellency, Francis Bernard, Esq., through the Province on ae- count of the success given to His Majesty's arms, &c.' 'Mar. 23, 1760, at Middletown, on a day of Thanks- giving appointed by our Governor, by order from our King George, on account of successes by sea and by land.'

"Abel Morgan preached the truth of God all over this part of New Jersey, and a hundred years after he has gone his power for good is felt. At Middle- town, Freehold, Crosswicks, Holmdel, Middletown Point, Cheesequakes, Piscataway, Bordentown, Eng- lishtown, Hightstown, Shrewsbury and many other places, and in many private houses did he preach the Word, as the records on his sermons show. He scat- tered the good seed with a wide hand. He preached on his journeys where he stopped for the night, or would spend a few days and preach several times.

ceived of the approach of the British army from Phila- adelphia, the prisoners here referred to were hastily removed by Sheriff Nicholas Van Brunt from Monmouth Court-Ilonse to the jail of Morris County. After the battle of Monmouth they were brought back, and some or all of them were executed near the court-house.

When he had been forty years at Middletown, he had preached 4493 times, as the number on his MSS. shows, an average of nearly 110 sermons a year for the whole time.

"Mr. Morgan was never married. His mother, for whom he cherished great love and reverence, kept his house till she died, at an advanced age. He owned his own home, situated, as it is understood, near the residence of Mr. William Conover, son of Colonel Elias Conover, about one mile from the church.1 Athis death Mr. Morgan willed all his property, his library, sermons, &c., to the church which he had served so long and so faithfully. The house and gronnds were sold after a time for one hundred and fifty pounds,

"Of the last days of this eminent servant of God we have no further account than that be 'departed this life November 24, 1785, near 6 o'clock in the afternoon, in the Township of Middletown, County of Monmouth, State of New Jersey.'"

The Rev. Mr. Morgan left his library and sermons to the church, which still has them in its possession. The library contains many rare and curious books, the oldest of which was printed in 1574. The sermons are rather notes of sermons, and are written on paper the size of foolscap. They are all carefully preserved in the library of the parsonage.

The Rev. Abel Morgan was succeeded by his nephew, the Rev. Samuel Morgan. He was born in Welsh Tract August 23, 1750; called to the ministry in Virginia; ordained at Middletown November 29, 1785, at which time he took on him the care of the church. No account of Mr. Morgan's death or resignation has been obtained.

He was, however, succeeded by the Rev. Benjamin Bennett before 1793, as in that year the church was incorporated under an act of Assembly, passed March 16, 1786, under the

1 The old house of the Rev. Abel Morgan is now the parsonage of St. Mary's Catholic Church of New Mon- mouth.

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MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP.

name of " The Baptist Church of Middletown." The following are the names signed to the cer- tificate, June 20, 1793, followed by the record of the election of trustees :

Richard Crawford,

Anthony Smith,

John Stillwell,

John Smock,

Samuel Ogborne,

John Walling,

William Blair,

Joseph Stillwell,

Rebeccah Stillwell,

James Bowne,

Anna Chasey, Sarah Bostwick, Samuel Bray,

Cornelia Dennis, Mary Holmes, Obadiah Holmes,

James Patterson,

Jacob Covenhoven,

Daniel Ketcham,

Phrebe Ketcham,

Jonathan Stout,

James Walling,

Asher Holmes,

Joseph Brown,

Cornelius Hulshart,

William Morford,

William Green,

Cornel's Hulshart, Jr.,

James Grover,

Thomas Jeffreys,

Jehu Patterson,

Thomas Stillwell,

George Hunt,

Benjamin Hulshart,

Thomas Burrows,

David Burge,

Benjamin Bennett, John Bowne,

Daniel Hill,

Silvester Applegate,

Phillip Walling,

John Wall,

John Taylor,

Daniel Hendrickson.

" This is to certify that at a meeting of a number of signers for the incorporating the Baptist Church at Middletown, of which Benjamin Bennett is pastor, wc, the following persons, were chosen as trustees for said church, to wit: John Smock, Jacob Covenhoven, Joseph Stillwell, William Blair, John Stillwell, Jon- athan Stout, and Daniel Ketcham, of whom Joseph Stillwell was by the others chosen president ; and hav- ing taken the oaths necessary as the law directs, and taken upon us the name of the trustees for the Baptist Church at Middletown, with the seal marked Mx. B.C., do request the same to be recorded as the law in that case directs. As witness our ha ids and seals, the 16th day of December 1793.

Signed, "JOHN SMOCK, [L.S.] "JACOB COVENHOVEN, [L.S.] " JOSEPH STILLWELL, [1 .. S.] " WILLIAM BLAIR, [L.S.] "JOHN STILLWELL, [L.S.] "JONATHAN STOUT, [L.S.] " DANIEL KETCHAM. [L.S.]"

The Rev. Benjamin Bennett was succeeded about 1818 by the Rev. - King, who, in 1823, was followed by the Rev. Thomas Roberts, who served the church with fidelity until 1837, when the Rev. D. B. Stout became pastor. He remained pastor until his death, in 1871. He was buried in the graveyard adjoining the ehureh.

In 1876 the Rev. E. J. Foote accepted a call to the pastorate, and served until April 1, 1883. The present pastor, the Rev. F. A. Douglas, was installed December 20, 1883. The church has a membership of two hundred.

The church, according to Morgan Edwards, met first in a private house belonging to John Stout, one of the first settlers ; " but it does not seem as if they held worship there longer than while a public place was in building ; for when the first house was taken down, in 1734, thetim- ber was rotten, and therefore old ; and there were but sixty-seven years between the beginning of the settlement and the taking down of that house." The lot on which it was situated was a part of the present lot. On April 27, 1734, Robert Hartshorne deeded to the church, as a gift, nineteen hundred and ninety- eight square feet of land adjoining, and on this lot, in that year, the congregation erected a house of wor- ship thirty-two by forty-two feet in size, which was used until 1832, when the present house of worship was built.

CHRIST CHURCH (Episcopal) of Middletown and Christ Church of Shrewsbury are so closely connected in their carly annals that the history of the latter (in Shrewsbury) has been written to include that of the Middletown Church until 1854. up to which time the two were, in fact, identical.

At the time of the division of church property, in 1855, the Rev. Harry Finch was the rector. The Middletown Church received as its portion a part of the large farm 1 on Swimming River, which was left to the two churches by William Leeds in 1735. Upon the formation of this church into a separate parish the Rev. Charles Woodward became the minister and missionary. The Rev. Eli Wheeler began labor as minister

1 By an act passed May 2, 1854, to divide the farm property of Christ Church of Shrewsbury and Middletown, embracing four hundred and thirty-eight acres of land, mostly in Middletown, George House, Peter R. Smock and John B. Crawford were appointed commissioners to divide the property. Each took title to their church lot and edifice, and the farm was divided nearly equally, Christ Church of Middletown taking that portion of the farm lying west of the road leading from Leedsville southward into Atlantic township.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

on Easter Sunday, 1858, and resigned October 1, 1859. The Rev. William N. Dunnell was called to be the rector in 1859, and began his labor April 1, 1860, and served ten years. He was succeeded in July, 1871, by the Rev. Peter M. Jacques, who remained two years. The Rev. C. M. Parkman became rector early in 1874 and resigned April 1, 1877. The Rev. Samuel Edson became the rector, and occupied the pulpit for the first time on Easter Sunday in 1878. He continued until succeeded by the present rector, the Rev. Joseph T. Jowitt, in September, 1882. The church has at present but twelve members.

The first mention of Episcopal Church service in Middletown is in "George Keith's Jour- nal." On the 17th of June, 1702, he visited Middletown and preached a sermon on " Infant Baptism," and the Rev. John Talbot, a mission- ary who came to this country with him, read prayers. He says most of the audience were Anabaptists.

The Rev. Alexander Innes became a resident of Middletown before 1693, and after the de- parture of George Keith he preached occasion- ally to the churches in the vicinity. He gave ten acres of land, on which the Episcopal Church now stands, and by his will he left five pounds each to the churches at which he preached.

The Rev. Thomas Thompson, who came here as a missionary in 1745, says of the church buildings in the county,-

" As to the church buildings, I have fonnd them all much out of condition, especially the church at Mid- dletown, which was begun to be built but the year before I came there, and had nothing done on the inside, not even a floor laid. So that we had no place for the present to assemble in Divine worship. only an old house which had formerly been a meeting- house.

" In the year 1746 the church at Middletown, which had stood useless, being, as I have before men- tioned, only a shell of a building, had now a floor laid and was otherwise made fit to have divine wor- ship performed in it. The congregation of this church was but small, and as the service eould not be offener than once a month, it was morally impossible to increase the number much, especially as there was a weekly meeting of Anabaptists in that town, so that it was the most I eould propose to prevent those that were of the church from being drawn away by dissenters."

This church was used, with repairs, until 1835. It was rebuilt in that year, and conse- crated January 19, 1836, by the Right Rev. Bishop Doane, assisted by the Rev. George E. Hare. The church building is still in use, and the parish is in charge of Trinity Episcopal Church of Red Bank.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF MIDDLE- TOWN had its commencement before 1706, and a church edifice was soon after erected on the old Presbyterian burying-ground lot. The congregation was under the care of the Rev. John Boyd, of the Scots Church (now Ten- nent). He was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph Morgan, in 1710, who preached here until 1728. It is stated that the church edifice in Mr. Mor- gan's time was an old, dilapidated building, even then abandoned and left to decay. Its neglected condition annoyed him, and when riding by, if he saw the door or window open, he would stop, and, dismounting his horse, rev- erently close the open door or window before proceeding on his way. It was repaired under the Rev. Samuel Dennis, who took charge of the church in 1738. In September of that year, Shrewsbury and Middletown Presbyterian Churches called the Rey. Samuel Blair, who remained until September 5, 1739. From that time they were without a pastor until May, 1761, when the Rev. Elihu Spencer, D.D., became pastor and remained until May, 1764.

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History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 91

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