History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 203

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224

USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 203
USA > New Jersey > Union County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 203

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Civil List.

TOWN CLERKS.

John T. Martin, 1870-72, 1875-82. | Theodore A. Wood, 1873-74.

ASSESSORS.

Luther J. Tappin, 1870-74. ] Theodore A. Wood, 1875-81.

COLLECTORS.

Charles C. Campbell, 1870-78. | Msoning Freeman, 1879-81.

CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS.

Michael M. Lupardus, 1870-73.

Lewis Thomas, 1870.

R. B. Crowell, 1870-73.

Alexander Campbell, 1874-75.

Luther H. Tappiu, 1880-81.

TOWN COMMITTEE.

Manning Freeman, 1870-76.

Theodore A. Wood, 1870-71.

Augustus Stelle, 1870-73, 1877.

Janies R. Potter, 1877.

Augustus Blackford, 1871-72. William E. Crowell, 1871-74. Formao Martio, 1872-73, 1875. Isaac S. Runyou, 1872, 1874-76. Moses M. Craig, 1873-76.

-- Charles C. Campbell, 1877-78. Henry Acken, 1878. Samuel Laforge, 1878. Luther H. Tappin, 1879.

Israe 1Thoms1, 1880-81.

Daniel S. Dunham, 1880.“ Stelle Fitz Randolph, 1881.

1 Bill in Chancery, p.53, for bonnds of their respective grante.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

N. A. Wood, 1870.

C. W. Livermore, 1870.

William N. Brundage, 1870.

Willian A. Lane, 1871-76.

Joseph Marcell, 1879.

Josephus Shann, 1871. Riallo O. Arnold, 1880.

Theodore A. Wood, 1874-76, 1881. Abraham V. N. De Forest, 1874.

Isaac S. Runyon, 1875.

Isasc Soper, 1875, 1880-81. William Thomal, 1876.

Daniel S. Dunham, 1881. Martin R. Meeker, 1881.

Although the allotment of a portion of the common lands for the benefit of schools is evidence of the interest in education felt by the first settlers, yet there was no action on the part of the town (then Wood- bridge) to effect the establishment of a school until 1689. This was in March of that year, and James Fullerton, who owned lands with his brother, near what is now Plainfield township, and near the Oak-Tree School, as it was called, in this township, was em- ployed as "schoolmaster."

In 1694 it appears that one John Conger was opposed to a free school for the next year, which Mr. Brown was desired to teach at a salary of twenty-four pounds, and Mr. Conger protested against the school over his signature, which was that of "his mark." We next learu of John Baker, in the same year, being em- ployed " to teach for six months on trial," he to keep "ye school this winter time uutil nine o'clock at night."

During the Revolutionary war, and until about 1784, there were no schools taught. A tax upon dogs was appropriated for schooling poor children.

The present school districts in the township are named Lafayette, Fairfield, Oak-Tree, New Durham, Friendship, No. 10, and the old Franklin school- house. The names of Miss Abigail Thomas, Mr. Lane, Mr. Tibbitts, Mr. Fuller, Mr. Alpheus, W. Kel- logg, 1839, J. Newton Smith.

The Metuchen school-house in the year 1842 was removed, and the present substantial building has taken its place, finished in 1871 at a cost of about $9000.

About the year 1860, Prof. William Hopkins opened a select school in the academy under prosperous aus- pices, as did Mr. L. P. Cowles a few years after.

The Piscataway town school was built in 1695. It was situated on a part of lands conveyed to Messrs. Drake, Hull, Higgins, and Slater by the proprietors of the province of East Jersey, dated March 5, 1695. It was built of logs, and " had ample play-ground." It was situated adjacent to the present burial-ground, on the southerly side of the road leading through the town. About the year 1800 it was abandoned and a new house built at a greater distance from the public road. This was a small unpainted building, with rude desks against the walls and seats made of oak planks or slabs,-a fair specimen perhaps of most of the country schools of that day. The fearful tornado which swept over this section of country on the 19th day of June, 1835, destroying so much property, de- molished in its course the school building of this place. Much damage was done to property in the

Erastus H. Tappin, 1874, 1879-81.

Samuel C. Stelle, 1875, 1878-79. David Fisher, 1876.

Joseph Leriginotto, 1876. Manning Freeman, 1877-78. Formian Martio, 1877-79.

Thomas N. Acken, 1874-76.

Gilman T. Comings, 1876. Zenas Henderson, 1877-78. Jerome B. Ross, 1877.

842

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

neighborhood, and the inhabitants were compelled to delay the building of another school-house until 1837, when a two-story building was erected by subscription.

In 1852 this building was enlarged at a cost of $331, defrayed by special tax. After this enlargement a female teacher was employed and a female depart- ment established. Repairs were again made upon this building in 1871, and the pupils supplied with modern desks. More recently (1875) this building was extensively repaired and put in a condition of neatness and comfort worthy of its historic character. Z. T. Martin taught in this school for more than forty years, a testimony to his character and worth of no small significance.

The following statistical report of schools of this township will not be without interest :

Value of

Scholars enrolled. school property.

Friendship, No. 10.

$1500

Mount Pleasant, No. 11.

300

New Dover, No. 12.

900

Oak-Tree, No. 13.

1500

New Durham, No. 14.

500

Metuchen, No. 15 ..

256

9000

Lafayette Union, No. 16 ..

1000

Piscataway Town, No. 17.

3000

Bonhamtown, No. 18.

1290

The whole number of children enrolled is 641; value of school property, $18,900; number of male teachers, 1; female teachers, 10.

CHAPTER CV. RARITAN TOWNSHIP .- (Continued.)

Quakers .- For the convenience of a number of the Society of Friends residing in this vicinity, a weekly meeting was begun Oct. 16, 1725, at John Laing's, the distance being too great to the meeting-house in Woodbridge, especially during the season of bad roads. John Laing lived at or near Plainfield (Tow- town, now New Brooklyn), and it was certainly a long distance for him to ride every " First-day." He bequeathed to the Friends a plot of ground on which to build a meeting-house, and on the 27th of March, 1731, the Woodbridge Monthly Meeting gave permis- sion for its construction, directing that it should not exceed in its dimensions twenty-four feet square, and fourteen feet "between joynts." It was completed and all accounts settled by the latter part of the year 1736. About the year 1787 the meeting was removed to Plainfield ; the building was also removed thither and used for a time, until the present building was finished in 1789. All trace of the former place and burying-ground in the Short Hills is now lost.1

Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church (Me- tuchen), situated on the corner of Main Street and Middlesex Avenue, is a neat building, with belfry and ample plot of land for enlarging the building when so desired. It was for many years the desire of a few Methodist families in this town to have regular

services, and in the year 1866 the academy was offered them. In the fall (October) of 1866 an organization was effected under the corporate name of the Centen- ary Methodist Episcopal Church of Metuchen, and the following gentlemen signed the certificate of in- corporation : Walter S. Petit, Robert Idell, Isaac M. Whittier, Henry F. Coon, Robert Petit, and Rev. M. Daly. The Rev. J. S. Coit, pastor of Woodbridge Methodist Episcopal Church, became the stated sup- ply from April, 1866, until the spring of 1867, when the Conference sent them Rev. I. L. Gilder.

The present edifice was commenced in 1868, and dedicated in April, 1869. The following have filled the pastorate according to the usage of the Methodist Episcopal Church :

Rev. E. G. Thomas, who had graduated at Rutgers College, was sent as their stated supply by the Con- ference of 1868. He, unfortunately, had to resign in a few months on account of a bronchial affection. He gave promise of great usefulness, and was an ex- cellent preacher.

Rev. J. J. Reed, now of the Washington Avenue Church, New York, was sent to fill the term until Conference, when the Rev. Edward Wilson, a resi- dent of Metuchen, was appointed in 1869 as pastor. The Rev. J. H. Manaton, 1871; H. M. Simpson, Rev. T. H. Oaks, P. G. Blight, 1873; E. M. Garton, 1874; Isaac C. Decker, 1874; J. R. Adams, 1879; and the present pastor, Rev. W. D. Cammens, formerly a member of the North Ohio Conference, is now the stated pastor. Sittings, three hundred ; membership, seventy-five; Sabbath-school officers and teachers, twelve; scholars, sixty.

New Dover Methodist Episcopal Church .- A few families of Methodists had settled in the small hamlet of New Dover, and for years had attended church in Rahway and Woodbridge, with occasional preaching in the school-house in the neighborhood. It had been long contemplated building a small church for their use, but not until the year 1847, when this charge was united with the Woodbridge Church and supplied on the Sabbath with regular preachers, was the work undertaken in earnest. In the year 1848 ground was brokeu and a neat frame church erected at a cost of about two thousand seven hundred dollars. At this time there was a member- ship of about eighteen, and a class was formed, Rev. Abraham Owens having the supervision, in connec- tion with the Woodbridge Church. At the Confer- ence, 1850, it was made a separate charge, and the Rev. J. R. Adams was sent; 1851, Rev. R. S. Arndt ; 1853, Rev. R. B. Lockwood; 1855, Rev. Jeremiah Cowins, and the membership had increased to fifty- five members; 1857, Rev. Rodney Winans. In the former year Metuchen was united to New Dover, and Rev. William H. McCormick was sent, but was made a separate charge in 1858, and Rev. Joseph H. Dandy was sent as the regular minister, and remained until the spring of 1861, and was supplied by the elder,

1 Rev. J. W. Dally's account.

843

RARITAN TOWNSHIP.

John S. Porter, and 1862, Rev. H. B. Edwards was sent; 1864, Rev. John Coyle; 1865, Rev. E. F. Hadley ; 1866, Rev. Bartholomew Weed; 1867, Rev. James Irvine; 1868, Rev. A. Vandeusen ; 1870, Rev. Theodore D. Frazee; 1872, Rev. Joseph W. Dally ; 1874, Rev. J. W. Miles ; 1875, Rev. L. T. Janes ; 1878, Rev. H. M. Simpson ; 1879, Rev. W. W. Stevens; 1880, Rev. C. O. Mead ; 1881, supplied by Rev. L. R. Dunn. The church has been improved within a few years. It is situated in an agricultural district and some miles from the railroad.

Stelton Baptist Church .- The Baptists were the first to establish religious services in this township, in 1683, being a part of Piscataway township, and at this early date "the names of Hugh Dunn, who was an exhorter; John Drake, afterwards the pastor ; Nicholas Bonham, John Smalley, Edmund Dunham, afterwards minister of the Seventh-Day Baptists, and John Fitz Randolph. It is not to be doubted but the said men had wives, or sisters, or daughters of the same way of thinking." They soon after received additions to their numbers by the arrival of a com- pany from Tipperary, Ireland. Messrs. Drake and Dunham and also Mr. Hugh Dunn are said by Bene- dict to have preached in Piscataway prior to 1689, although unordained ; but in the spring of that year, when the church was constituted, the Rev. Thomas Killingsworth visited the town, organized a congrega- tion, and ordained Mr. Drake, who continued as the pastor thereafter until his death in 1739. He bore an excellent character. He had three wives, by whom he had six sons-Isaac, Abraham, Francis, John, Benjamin, and Samuel-and two daughters,- Sarah and Rebecca.1 The Rev. Henry Lovell was associated with him towards the close of his career.

The successor of Mr. Drake was Benjamin Stelle, of French parentage, but born in New York, "a popular preacher and upright magistrate." He con- tinued in charge of the congregation until his death, in January, 1759, in his seventy-sixth year, having been assisted in his ministerial labors for several years by his son, Isaac Stelle, who continued to officiate for nearly twenty-three years after the death of his father, and died Oct. 9, 1781, in his sixty-third year, highly esteemed. In company with the Rev. Benjamin Mil- ler, Mr. Stelle travelled much among the Baptists of America. He married Christiana Clarkson, by whom he had six sons,-Benjamin, John, Abel, Joseph, Oli- ver, and Samuel. The Rev. Reune Runyon succeeded Mr. Stelle in 1783, having been called to the ministry in 1771, when thirty years of age. He was ordained at Morristown in March, 1772, where he remained until 1780, Mr. Runyon died in November, 1811, having been assisted in his labors part of the time by Henry Smalley. "He was remarkable for dexterity in administering baptism." "On 30th June, 1786, a gentleman held his watch in his hand till he had bap-

tized thirty in fifty-eight minutes." His wife was Ann Bray, by whom he had five daughters-Ann, Rachel, Charlotte, Matilda, and Isabella-and three sons,- Vincent, Daniel, Reune.2

The Rev. James McLaughlin, then pastor of the Baptist Church at Kingwood, N. J., was called to succeed Mr. Runyon, and entered upon his duties in October, 1812. A portion of the congregation re- sided in New Brunswick, where a convenient meeting- house had been built two years before, and as there was no parsonage in " Piscataway" (Stelton), Mr. McLaughlin took up his residence there, holding his services at both places,-at Stelton in the morning of each Lord's Day, and in New Brunswick in the after- noon. On the 1st of September, 1816, the members of the congregation residing in New Brunswick, twenty-three in number, were formed into a separate church.

Mr. McLaughlin continued to serve both congre- gations until his resignation, which was presented Oct. 19, 1817. He is remembered by many as a worthy man and excellent minister, grave in his de- portment, and unusually solemn in his pulpit ad- dresses.

The congregation was without a pastor about a year, but on the 1st of October, 1818, the Rev. Wil- liam Dodge, of Wilmington, Del., took it under his charge, and for nearly fourteen years continued its efficient and exemplary pastor, attracting the people to him by a happy union of dignity and affability in his deportment, his neatness of person, and becom- ing walk and conversation, and though dead still lives in the warm affections of many of his flock. During the pastorate of Mr. Dodge the congregation prospered materially. In February, 1825, it was de- termined to erect a new house of worship on the site of the old one (the old church was properly the one built in 1686), and so vigorously was the building pros- ecuted that in the following October it was dedicated. It cost three thousand dollars. When he first entered upon his duties Mr. Dodge resided in New Bruns- wick, as his predecessor had done, but in 1830 re- moved to a farm near the Piscataway meeting-house. On his resignation he removed to Newark, and be- came the pastor of the First Baptist Church there in 1832.

The Rev. Daniel D. Lewis succeeded Mr. Dodge in June, 1833, and remained in charge of the congre- gation until his death, Sept. 27, 1849, having served the church faithfully and successfully for more than sixteen years. His remains were interred in the yard near the house where he labored so long and where he finished his course. A plain stone marks the place where they rest. He was a plain man, making no pretensions to learning or eloquence, diffident and retiring in his manner, but sound in the faith and earn- est in his delivery of the truth, seeking the honor of his

1 Edwards' Materials, page 25.

9 Ibid., p. 28.

844

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

Divine Master, and the peace and harmony of his people.1 On April 1, 1850, Rev. Henry V. Jones accepted a call to the pastorate, removing from New- ark, where he had charge of the First Baptist Church,

Mr. Lewis, like his predecessor, had resided in New Brunswick, but shortly after his death it was resolved to provide a parsonage within the town limits, which was accomplished by purchasing a small farm of twenty acres, and constructing thereon a new house at an expense of four thousand dollars. On the 1st of January, 1851, the meeting-house which was built in 1825 took fire and was entirely consumed, but with commendable zeal the people at once took measures to build another, and in January, 1852, a little more than a year after the destruction of the old one, a bandsome new edifice, costing seven thousand five hundred dollars, was completed and dedicated, oc- cupying the same spot which had been the site of the two former ones.

" Where ... in many a mouldering heap, Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep,"

who were the worshipers within their walls, and their children, grandchildren, and the great-grand- children constitute the congregation that now peri- odically assembles within the present meeting-house.

We find that Rev. Henry V. Jones was the eighth pastor. He remained until in March, 1856, when his health became impaired. Under his fervent minis- trations greater spirituality and vigor began to per- vade the church. The cause of missions received much attention, and a number of mission Sabbath- schools were established. He left the parish amid universal regret.

Rev. Christian J. Page, the ninth pastor, came from Bristol in the same year, and began his success- ful ministry on the 1st of October, 1856. He resigned in March, 1867, and went to Spring Valley, N. Y., in the autumn. A revival followed his advent, resulting in the addition of one hundred souls to the church within eighteen months. In September, 1862, Mr. Page, having received an appointment as chaplain in the Union army, was voted leave of absence for nine months with salary.

Rev. James F. Brown, the tenth pastor of this an- cient church, became Mr. Page's successor. He came March, 1868, and is now worthily filling this honorable position. He came from Bridgeton, N. J. The various interests of the church under his care have not suffered. There has been a gradual im- provement in the spiritual condition, a large number having been received. In the year 1878, Mr. Brown suffered for some time with loss of voice and general debility, was granted four months' vacation, and after some months' absence from his charge, finding him- self unable to perform the pastoral duties, resigned the church, Sept. 28, 1878. After a season of sup- plies, the church, guided by the Spirit, with marked

unanimity called Rev. J. W. Sarles, D.D., of Brook- lyn, N. Y., who accepted the call and settled among them April 1, 1879.

This church is now two hundred years old, and is the second in age in the State. It has been burned down twice in its history, but immediately sprang into new life with larger and better buildings. It has had eleven preachers, which is an average of nearly eighteen years to each. Of these the longest pastorate continued fifty years, the shortest five years. The first four and the seventh died on the field, full of years and honors.

The total membership of the church in 1800 was 124 ; at the present time the membership is 292. The property is valued at, including the Piscataway Church, $17,500 ; sittings, 700.

St. James' (Protestant Episcopal) Church .- The first regular religious services in Piscataway Town according to the forms of the Church of Eng- land were performed by the Rev. Mr. Brooks, whose labors in the province commenced in 1704. He per- formed services in seven different places, covering ground fifty miles in extent,-at Elizabethtown, Rahway, Perth Amboy, Cheesquake, Rocky Hill, and in a congregation at Freehold near Page's. He usually visited the place once a month, and some steps were taken towards the erection of a church.

Mr. Vaughan succeeded him in similar services, and subsequently Mr. Halliday officiated once a fortnight. At this time the building of a brick church "eighty-seven feet long, twenty-three feet wide, thirteen feet high on the side walls" was undertaken, and more than £100 subscribed, a por- tion of which is stated to have been expended for materials, but no further progress was made. “Rev. George Keith, in his journal, mentions officiating once in Piscataway on Dec. 30, 1702;" communica- tion to the society from the vestry, Dec. 24, 1714. The most prominent man of the congregation at that time was Mr. John Barron, one of the wardens. The other warden was Thomas Wetherel. The vestry, John Molleson, William Hodgson, Robert Webster, Charles Glover, Hopewell Hull, Henry Langstaff, Samuel Walker, John Jennings, William Olden, Samuel Royse. Subsequently, about the year 1717, by the advice of Mr. Vaughan, the frame of a timber church was put up, but the funds being exhausted it remained in an unfinished state until 1724, at which time they received occasional visits from the Rev. Mr. Skinner, of Perth Amboy, who gives as the number of communicants in that year eighteen or nineteen, and represents the congregation as increas- ing, the attendance being as large there as in Amboy.

For more than thirty years, and probably until his death, did Mr. Skinner discharge his duties faithfully as a missionary to this flock. In 1747 he wrote, " My circuit from the first Sunday in May is from Amboy to South River, from thence to Amboy, while

1 Town Records.

845

RARITAN TOWNSHIP.

the river is passable or traveling possible; and, indeed, the extremes of heat and cold render the service at sixty years of age very hard to your humble servant."

He had the satisfaction of seeing the congrega- tion enlarge under his ministrations, stating in 1741 that his hearers generally numbered 200, and on Christmas-day, 1748, he reports the number of com- municants to have been forty-five.

The parish subsequently passed into the charge of the missionaries stationed at New Brunswick, the Rev. Messrs. Wood, Mckean, and Cutting, who officiated there at different periods. The latter gentleman, who commenced his labors in 1764, ap- pears to have been of a truly catholic spirit, living at New Brunswick and associating harmoniously with all denominations, in addition to his clerical func- tions having under his care a few young gentlemen whom he prepared for college. His services at Piscataway Town were well attended, and he states that he was on the most friendly terms with the Baptist clergyman (Stelton), by agreement with him officiating every third Sunday in the month when that gentleman's duties called him elsewhere. He met, however, with much to discourage him; so strong were the prejudices which education and asso- ciation had engendered in those composing his con- gregation, on his proposing to them baptism they preferred objections to sprinkling, and on offering to immerse them they declined receiving the sign of the cross upon their foreheads, and what gave him great uneasiness was the divisions existing among them respecting land titles, one of the principal men of the congregation becoming very inimical to many, who wished Mr. Cutting to exercise ecclesiastical discipline upon him. "I remonstrated to them," says the missionary; "it was a matter of law too intricate for me. In vain did I endeavor to convince them the church had no business with disputes con- cerning property. I offered everything in my power to mediate matters, and at last brought the principal parties to agree to leave the affair to arbitration ; the rest were still violent, and became more so because I refused to do what I could not answer to God, my conscience, and society. ... They threatened to leave the church, and the last communion some really absented themselves." This was in 1765. The next year he states with pleasure that the hostility of the parties was somewhat mollified, though he found it more difficult to appease them when their temporal interest was concerned than when any scruples arose in their minds concerning religion.

Shortly after this the Rev. Abraham Beach suc- ceeded Mr. Cutting at New Brunswick, and officiated occasionally at Piscataway Town until the Revolution. From the re-establishment of peace up to 1830 mis- sionaries of the Protestant Episcopal Church or clergymen from the nearest towns visited the place only two or three times a year. In 1830 the congre-

gation was placed, along with that of Trinity Church, Woodbridge, in charge of the Rev. William Douglas, and so continued for ten years and until Mr. Douglas' removal to the West. In 1840 the Rev. Frederick Ogilby officiated occasionally; in 1841 and 1842 the Rev. Hamble J. Leacock; in 1843 and 1844 the Rev. Alfred Stubbs, of New Brunswick; in 1848 the Rev. James Chipchase; and from 1847 to 1855 the Rev. Isaac Smith were in charge of the parish or gave to it a portion of their time. The Rev. Alfred Stubbs has now charge of the church (1882).

On the 19th of June, 1835, the church was entirely destroyed by a tornado. The present neat edifice was completed in a few months after, situated on the wide avenue in the centre of the village. The Wardens, (1843) Joel Dunham, Franklin Smith, (1882) William N. Smith, Benjamin Ellimore. Vestrymen, (1843) John Kirkpatrick, Henry Langstaff, William Orme, Abraham Beach, Joseph S. Arnold, James Arnold, Jr., John T. Martin, (1882) John T. Martin, John Conaway, John E. Linstedt, and Edward Allen.

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History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 203

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts Number of Pages: 1224

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224