History of the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, N.J., 1742-1882 pt 1, Part 83

Author: First Presbyterian Church in Morristown (N.J.)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Morristown, N.J. : "Banner" Steam Print
Number of Pages: 942

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Nov. 18, 1868. Parish meeting. The Rev. J. B. Hyndshaw, Moderator. Upon recom- mendation by Mr. Theodore Little, Chair- man of the Com. appointed to select a Pas- tor, a call was unanimously voted to the Rev. John A. French, at a salary of $3,000. and use of Parsonage ; the call to be signed, and prosecuted before Presbytery,by Messrs. Theo. Little and Ezra Mills for the Session, H. C. Pitney and H. M. Dalrymple for the Trustees, and J. Elliot Condict and Lebbeus B. Ward for the Congregation.

November 18, 1868. Trustees. On mo- tion, 3 per cent. commission for collecting pew rents was allowed the Treasurer. Re- solved, That the pew rents be fixed in ac- cordance with the late revaluation of the pews and collected for the quarter com- mencing Sept. 12, '68.

PASTORATE OF REV. JOHN ABBOTT FRENCH. From Dec. 1868 to Jan. 1877.

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MINUTES OF THE SESSION.

December 21st, 1868,. The Presbytery of Passaic met in the Church and installed Rev. John A. French as Pastor. The Rev. Dr. Ogden of Chatham preached the ser-

mon. Rev. Mr. Roberts, of Elizabeth, de- livered the charge to the people, and Rev. Dr. Irving gave the charge to the Pastor. Dec. 30, 1868. The Session met at the re- quest of the Pastor, at the house of Mr. Little. Present : The Pastor, and Elders :

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MINUTES OF THE SESSION.

Mills, Marvin, Davis, Olyphant and Little. Absent : Messrs. Stevenson and Prudden, on ac. of illness.

The meeting was opened with prayer by the Pastor. The minutes of the last meet- ing were read and approved.

The observance of the week of prayer be- ing brought up for consideration,it was Re- solved, That we will observe the week, commencing on the first Sabbath of Jan- uary, as a week of prayer; and that we meet with the other Congregations of the town, who may observe that week, in such ser- vices as may be agreed on.

Resolved, That the Session will hereafter · hold a meeting on the First Wednesday of each month, at three o'clock P. M .; and at such other times as the Pastor may request it.

Adjourned to Wednesday, Jan'y 6, 1869 ; with prayer.

Theo. Little, Clerk.

Jan. 6, 1869. The matter of systematic benevolence being under consideration, it was Resolved, That it be referred to the Pastor and Elder Little to divide the Con- gregation into suitable and convenient dis- tricts, for the purpose of carrying into ef- fect the recent action of the Presbytery in reference to making our contributions for benevolence ; and that said Committee re- port to the Session at its next meeting.

Jan. 25, 1869. The Committee, appointed at the last meeting to district the Congre- gation, reported a plan dividing the Con- gregation into sixteen districts ; which re- port was accepted and the plan adopted. The Session then selected a Collector for each district, and directed the necessary cards to be provided for the Collectors.

March 14, 1869. The object of the meet- ing having been stated by the Pastor to be the election of a Treasurer of " The Founda- tion Fund," Mr. Henry M. Olmsted, one of the Deacons of the Church, was, on motion, unanimously elected to that office.

April 7, 1869. The Session, after consid- ering the matter, determined that hereafter the Service preparatory to the Communion shall be held on Thursday, instead of Sat- urday.

June 18, 1869. The Pastor having read to Session a paper which he had prepared at their request, explaining and enforcing

the plan of systematic benevolence recently adopted by Session ; the same was unani- mously approved and, on motion, it was re- solved that the Clerk be directed to have 500 copies printed for distribution among the Congregation.

Nov. 4, 1869. The subject of making ad- dition to the Session having been for a long time under consideration, and being again duly considered, it was unanimously agreed to recommend to the Church as Elders, Messrs. Henry M. Dalrymple, Vernon Bo- kee and James D. Stevenson ; and the Pas- tor was directed to announce such recom- mendation to the Church on the ensuing Sabbath, and to notify the Church that the matter will be submitted for their action on the day of the preparatory service for next Communion, and that the Church would have an opportunity of making other nomi- nations as they may desire.

Dec. 2, 1869. This being the day ap- pointed for the election of new Elders, (no- tice thereof having been given for two Sab- baths,) the Pastor announced to the Con- gregation that Mr. Vernon Bokee declined to be elected, and invited other nomina- tions by the Church ; whereupon Mr. Enoch T. Caskey was nominated. In view of this new nomination, the election was postponed until it could be ascertained whether Mr. Caskey would accept the office if elected, and until the congregation could be noti- fied of the nomination and have time to consider the same.

Dec. 19, 1869. It having been ascertained, upon conference with Mr. Caskey, that he would not accept the office of Elder, to which he had been nominated, the nomina- tion of Messrs. Henry M. Dalrymple and James D. Stevenson was regulary submitted to the Church for its action, after the morn- ing service, and they were duly elected Elders.

Jan 5, 1870. It appearing that the breth- ren, Henry M. Dalrymple and James D. Stevenson, have been duly elected by the Church to the office of Ruling Elder, and that they were ordained to that office on Sabbath, January 2d, 1870, and they being present, were cordially welcomed as Mem- bers of the Session ; and their names were ordered to be enrolled.

Mr. Vernon Bokee was unanimously

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elected Chorister of the Church, and the Clerk was directed to notify both the Trus- tees and Mr. Bokee of such election.

The Pastor, Mr. Olyphant and Mr. Bokee were appointed a committee to select a suitable book for use in the Chapel.

Feb. 3, 1870. The Pastor, as Chairman of the Committee in relation to the death of Elder Prudden, reported the following reso- lutions :-

Whereas, our esteemed brother Stephen A. Prudden has recently been removed by death, after a very lingering illness which he bore with marked Christian patience and resignation, Resolved, that while, with humble submission to the dispensation of God's Holy Providence, we record the death of our venerable brother, we cannot but also record our high appreciation of his Christian character and example, and cherish for his memory the kindest recollection.

The Session of the South St. Presbyterian Church having extended to the Session an invitation to unite with that Church in a joint Communion service on the next Sab- bath, Feb. 6th inst., it was unanimously

Resolved, That the invitation be accepted in behalf of the Church, and that the Pas- tor and Elders Marvin, Mills, Olyphant and Little be appointed to act in concert with a similar committee, to be appointed by the South St. Church, in all matters pertaining to such service.

March 3, 1870. The matter of systematic benevolence being under consideration, it was resolved to continue the collection for the Foundation Fund during the current year; and also that special collections for our Boards be made by the same collectors, as follows : In March for the Board of Edu- cation, in April for the Board of Publica- tion, in May for the American Bible Society, in July for the Board of Domestic Missions, in August for the Freedmen's Committee, in Sept. for the Board of Foreign Missions, in November for Disabled Ministers, in January for the Board of Church Extension. Messrs. Little, Olyphant and Olmsted, Treasurer, were appointed a general Com- mittee on the benevolence of the Church.

March 31, 1870, Resolved, That hereafter the meeting of Session preceding each Com- munion shall be held on Wednesday, in- stead of Thursday as at present.

May 4, 1870. A communication having been received from the Committee having charge of the preparation for the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance in New York, in September next, asking for a contribution towards the expenses of said meeting, it was ordered that a special collection for that purpose be taken up in the Church on the 3d Sabbath of this month.

May 8, 1870. After conference, it was re- solved to recommend the Church to elect Lebbeus B. Ward who has heretofore been a ruling elder in-

in New York City, and Austin Requa, here- tofore an elder in Spring Street Presbyterian Church in New York, but who are now, and have been for some time, members of this Church, as Elders of the Church, if their consent to the same can be obtained ; and the Pastor was requested to see them and secure their consent if possible.

June 12, 1870. The only business being the appointment of a delegate to attend the Session of the Synod of New Jersey, to be held at Elizabeth on the 21st June, inst., by direction of the General Assembly, Mr. Lit- tle was appointed such delegate and Mr. Davis alternate. [First Synod after Re- union.]

July 7, 1870. Messrs. Dalrymple and Stevenson were appointed a committee to whom shall be referred all matters pertain- ing to the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion of the Church.

It was after deliberation resolved, That a special collection be taken up in the Church on the 3d Sabbath in July, for the benefit of the Sabbath School ; and a special collec- tion on the 4th Sabbath in July, for the benefit of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation. [This Y. M. C. A. was confined to this Congregation.]

Resolved, That the Session present its thanks to the Methodist Episcopal Church of this Town, for the Christian courtesy ex- tended to us. during the recent repairs of our own Church building ; and that the Clerk be directed to communicate this resolution to the Pastor of the M. E. Church.

Aug. 3, 1870. Dr. R. W. Stevenson sent to the Session, in meeting, his resignation of the office of Ruling Elder ; and the Ses- sion, well knowing the infirmity of his health and his continued inability to dis-

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charge the duties of the Eldership, direct | that his letter be placed on file, and, in con- formity with the Book of Discipline, directed that he be relieved from the active duties of the Eldership.

The Committee on Benevolence presented the following report, viz : That they have received and considered certain documents, relating to the Five Million Memorial Fund, issued bythe General Assembly's Committee, and recommend the appointment of a Com- mittee by the Session to take charge of the collections for that fund. While making this recommendation out of deference to the action of the General Assembly in the matter, the Committee cannot with-hold the expression of their fear that the effort to raise so large a sum, outside of the ordinary benevolence of the Church, will seriously diminish the receipts and cripple the useful- ness of our regular Boards. While, therefore, they recommend that this matter of the Five Million Fund be fully explained to the Church by the Pastor, at as early a day as practicable, they also suggest and recom- mend, that he be directed at the same time to urge upon the Church the importance, and the obligation, of not permitting any decrease of our contributions to our own Boards through the agency of the Founda- tion Fund. The report was considered by the Session and ordered to be recorded in the Minutes, and Messrs.Olyphant, Little and Davis were appointed a Committee in refer- ence to the collections for the Five Million Memorial Fund, with power to appoint such sub-committees, from the members of the Church, as they may think necessary.

Messrs. Olyphant and Stevenson were also appointed a Committee on the Music of the Church.

Nov. 30, 1870. It was Resolved, That the Session recommend to the Congregation to stand during the singing of the second hymn in the Sabbath services.

Dec. 15, 1870. After consultation and having a report from Messrs. Olyphant and Stevenson, Committee on the Music of the Church, Mr. John R. Runyon was elected Chorister until the ist of October, 1871, at such salary as may be agreed on with the Trustees.

the Session, from the active duties of the Eldership ; and, in consideration of his ad- vanced age and increasing infirmities, his request was unanimously granted.

Feb. 12, 1871. After consultation, it was Resolved, That the Treasurer be directed to pay to the Trustees, out of the amount col- lected for the Memorial Fund, so much as, with the funds in their hands, will pay the debt of the Church.

Sept. 21, 1871. Mr. French, as chairman of the Committee appointed at the last meeting, report a plan for systematic be- nevolence, recommending a collection each Sabbath morning, &c. Realizing that the success of any plan must depend largely on the cordiality with which it is accepted by the Church, it was resolved to submit the proposed plan to the Church, for its ap- proval, after the Preparatory lecture, on the 28th Sept. inst., notice thereof being given on the preceding Sabbath.

Sept, 27, 1871. After consultation it was resolved, That, in accordance with the re- commendation of the General Assembly, we will hereafter observe the First Thursday evening of each month, as a concert . of prayer for God's blessing on the Missionary work of the Church.

Nov. 7, 1871. The subject of a further in- crease of the Session having been consid- ered heretofore, and again at this meeting, it was Resolved to recommend to the Church to elect Messrs. Lebbeus B. Ward, Austin Requa, Isaac N. Whitehead, Joseph H. Van Doren, Enoch T. Caskey and Wil- liam G. Anderson, if their consent to such recommendation can be procured. The Pastor was requested to see said persons, and, if their consent is obtained, to an- nounce such recommendation to the Church two Sabbaths prior to the service preparat- tory to the next Communion ; and to no- tify the Church that the matter will be sub- mitted for their action at that time, and that an opportunity would also then be of- fered for any other nominations which may be desired.

Dec. 17, 1871. Mr. Wm. W. Stone (receiv- ed this day by letter,) having been hereto- fore an Elder in the University Place Pres- byterlan Church, in the City of New York, Session unanimously agreed to recommend

Dr. J. D. Marvin made a request, through the Pastor, to be relieved, by a resolution of I to the Church his election as a member of

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the Session of this Church ; and the Pastor was directed to so notify the Church.

Dec. 28, 1871. Notice of the election of Elders at this time having been duly given on the two preceding Sabbaths, the persons recommended by the Session were unani- mously elected. no other nominations being made. [All of those named above, with the exception of Isaac N. Whitehead, who " declined to be elected," and his name was not submitted.]

Dec. 31, 1871. Messrs. Caskey, Van Doren and Anderson were ordained as El- ders of the Presbyterian Church; and all those elected at the last meeting of the Church appeared and publicly accepted the office of Ruling Elders in this Church.

Jan. 10, 2872. The Treasurer having re- ported to Session that the amount realized for the Memorial Fund amounts to $1,582.10, which is in his hands subject to appropria- tion, it was Resolved, That $250 be appro- priated to the Pres. Church at Flanders, Morris County, to aid in payment of their debt, and that the balance, $1.332.10, be given to the German Theological Seminary at Newark :

Resolved, That the Treasurer be directed to dispose of the amount now in his hands, collected for the Boards of the Church, and which may hereafter be contributed for them, unless otherwise directed by the do- nors, in the following manner, to-wit :

To the Board of Foreign Missions, 32 pr. ct.

.. Education 12

Home Missions 24

Church Erection 12 "

Publication 5

Committee of Ministerial Relief 6

Freedmen 6

Sustentation 3

Jan. 31, 1871. The Treasurer reported that the collections for the month of Janu- ary amount to $377.68.

The communication from the Presbyterial Committee on Church Extension, asking for aid to pay the debt of the German Church at Orange, was considered, and the Treas- urer was directed to pay to the Committee, for that purpose, the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars out of the Contingent fund of the Session.

dollars to the Committee of the Presbytery of Chicago, towards the fund for rebuilding the Presbyterian Churches of that City, which were destroyed by the late fire.

Resolved, That the Session heartily ap- proves of the sermon, preached by our Pas- tor last Sabbath, on the subject of Temper- ance ; and requests that he permit it to be published and circulated in the Congre- gation.

Feb. 23, 1872. Resolved, That the collec- tion, to be taken up the first Sabbath of March next, be appropriated, so far as not especially given by the donors, to the Sea- men's Friend Society.

March 19. 1872. The meeting having been called to take some action on the matter laid over at the previous meeting, and Ses- sion having, in the meantime, conferred with the Trustees and with other members of Church, it was unanimously Resolved, That. in view of the state of health of our Pastor, the Session unanimously recom- mend to the Trustees, to grant to the Pas- tor leave of absence for a period of four months; that his salary be continued in the mean time; and that the pulpit be filled by the Session at the expense of the Church.

March 27, 1872. Resolved, That, during the absence of the Pastor, no certificate of dismission be granted except at a regular meeting of Session.

May 31, 1872. The Treasurer was, on mo- tion, directed to pay to the Treasurer of the Church Extension Committee, of the Pres- bytery of Morris and Orange, the sum of one hundred and thirty-five dollars, the amount apportioned to our Church, out of the Session fund. He was also directed to pay to the Treasurer of the Sabbath School, out of the same fund, the sum of one hun- dred and thirty dollars.

July 3, 1872. Letters from the Pastor, dated respectively May 30th and July Ist, 1872, were read ; and the Clerk was directed to acknowledge them in behalf of the Ses- sion, and to add that, while the Session realizes the importance of his return, yet that if his own judgment is that his health would be materially benefitted by an ex- tension of his rest from pastoral labor,

The Treasurer was also directed to pay the further sum of one hundred and fifty | Session would assume the responsibility of

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granting such extension until the first of September next.

The following was adopted in reference to the recent death of Mr. Ezra Mills, one of the members of Session. Whereas, our es- teemed brother, Ezra Mills, who.for so long a period discharged the duties of an Elder of this Church with marked acceptance, has been recently removed by death ; Resolved, That, while as a Session we would bow with submission to this dispensation of the Great Head of the Church, we are con- strained to place upon record our deep sense of the loss which the Church has sus- tained, our high appreciation of the worth and pure Christian character of our de- ceased brother and friend, and our joyful assurance that for him to die is gain. For his memory we will cherish ever the kind- est recollections. Resolved, that a copy of this resolution be sent by the Clerk to the family of Mr. Mills.

Aug. 3, 1872. The recent decease of El- der J. D. Marvin having been alluded to, Session passed the following resolutions : Ist. That while we sympathize with the family of our deceased brother J. D. Marvin in their affliction, and record our sense of the great loss which our Church has sus- tained by his death, we would also place on record some expression of our gratitude to the Great Head of the Church for his long and useful Christian life and example as a member, and especially as a Ruling Elder in this Church. Truly " blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do fol- low them." 2d. That a copy of this resolu- tion be sent to the family of the deceased.

this Church must feel the loss of one who prayed earnestly for her spiritual welfare, and worked zealously for her prosperity ; Resolved, That the foregoing resolution be placed on the record of the Session, and that a copy of the same be sent to his be- reaved family.

The following Committees were appointed by the Pastor :

Messrs. Ward and Stone, Committee on the Sabbath School.

Mr. Stevenson, Committee on Strangers.

Mr. Van Doren, Committee on Monthly Concert.

Mr. Caskey, Committee on Church Prayer Meeting.

Mr. Davis, Committee on The Christian Union

Mr. Dalrymple, Committee on Young Peo- ple's Association.

Mr. Little, Committee on Benevolence and Finance.

Oct. 3, 1872. The Pastor laid before Ses- sion the following communication, received by him from the Board of Trustees :

Morristown, Oct. 3d, 1872. Rev. John A. French, Moderator, &c .:

Rev. and Dear Sir :

At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the church held Tuesday, the Ist inst., the following preamble and resolution were duly adopted, and are herewith respectfully transmitted for the information of the Ses- sion : " Whereas, the adoption by the Ses- sion of the system of collections now in use in the church has had the effect to de- prive the Trustees of the amount usually raised by the monthly collection for inci- dental expenses, and no provision has been made or exists for supplying such defici- ency, therefore, Resolved, That the amount collected on the last' Sabbath in each month be and is hereby appropriated to- wards the payment. of the current expenses of the Church.

Oct. 1, 1872. The Committee appointed to recommend to Session what action should be taken in reference to the decease of Elder Austin Requa, by the Pastor as chairman reported the following resolu- tions, which were unanimously adopted : Whereas, It has pleased God to remove from us by death our esteemed friend, and By order of the Board of Trustees. Yours very respectfully, W. E. Church, Sec'y." that faithful servant of the Church, Elder Austin Requa ; Resolved, That while we assent to the words of the Spirit, " Blessed A communication was also presented, ad- dressed by the chorister, John R. Runyon, to one of the members of Session, stating that he had been informed by the Board of are the dead who die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them," yet we must ourselves mourn the departure of a kind friend, and | Trustees, that the existing arrangement be-

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tween him and the Church was unsatis- factory and could not be continued.

Session regarding both the matters of church music and church collections as pe- culiarly under its control, and in view also of the fact that the present scheme of col- lections was adopted by the Church at a public meeting, and after notice and time for consideration, and was proving emi- nently satisfactory, and believing that the Board of Trustees had acted under a misap- prehension of the facts and of the relative duties and powers of the two bodies, resolv- ed to invite the Trustees to a conference, at a meeting to be held in the pastor's study to-morrow evening, Oct. 4th, at 8 o'clock, and directed the Clerk of Session to com- municate such invitation.

Oct. 4, 1872. Messrs. Forsyth, Leek and Church, members of the Board of Trustees, appeared and excused the non-appearance of the other members. The meeting was opened with prayer. After a prolonged conference on the two matters referred to. in the previous communications to Session, the Trustees retired giving the assurance that the matter would be laid before the Board, and its action communicated to Ses- sion.

Nov. 7, 1872. The resignation of Miss Martha I. Johnson as organist was pre- seuted and accepted, and a resolution adopted, thanking her for her past services.

On motion the following schedule for the distribution of the benevolent fund of the church for the current year was adopted, to-wit: The Board of Foreign Missions, 32 per cent .; Home Missions, 26 per cent. ; Church Erection, 11 per cent. ; Education, 8 per cent. ; Sustentation, 8 per cent. ; Minis- erial Relief, 6 per cent. ; Freedmen, 5 per cent. ; Publication, 4 per cent.

A communication was received from the Board of Trustees stating, That the Board had considered the matters on which a con- ference had been held with the Session, and were unanimous in the opinion that the se- lection and appointment of a chorister are inherent rights and duties of the Board of Trustees, and that such had been the past usage and practice of the Board. After reading and considering the said communi- cation, it was referred to a committee con- sisting of Messrs. Little, Davis and Dal-

rymple, for a further conference with the Trustees.

Mr. Olyphant, heretofore a member of the Committee on Church Music, being now permanently absent, the pastor and Messrs. Stevenson and Van Doren were appointed as that committee.

The subject of a change of the Hymn Book being under consideration, several persons expressing a desire for such change, the matter was referred to the committee on music, to report at next meeting.

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History of the First Presbyterian Church, Morristown, N.J., 1742-1882 pt 1, Part 83

Author: First Presbyterian Church in Morristown (N.J.) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Morristown, N.J. : "Banner" Steam Print Number of Pages: 942

Author: First Presbyterian Church in Morristown (N.J.)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Morristown, N.J. : "Banner" Steam Print
Number of Pages: 942