USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Jersey City > History of the First Presbyterian Church of Jersey City, New Jersey : in four discourses preached in the month of July, 1876; also, the discourse preached at the close of services in the church building, Sunday morning, April 29, 1888 > Part 2
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The Presbyterians were the first to gather strength enough to build and occupy their own edifice. During almost all these years they had no regular pastor, nor in- deed were they legally incorporated, as I shall show, and for the all-sufficient reason, I suppose, that they had no property to be held. But they were now to take a new
Matthew's Church. They divided possession with the Episcopa- lians. On the west side of the school-house, a beautiful spot, cov- ered with greensward and shaded by lofty poplars and spreading button-balls, and on the edge of the bank, under one of the latter, was the then famous ' Indian Spring,' to which the people flocked for potable water. There was another fine spring in Essex Street, west of Warren, which poured forth a cold stream of pure water out of a hollow log. There was no house near the school-house, the nearest being on what is now York Street, east of Greene Street, on Sussex Street, east of Greene Street, on Morris, east of Washington, and on Essex Street. All the land west of Warren Street was salt meadow, until the upland was reached. The only avenue of ap- proach to Paulus Hook was a road which has since become Newark Avenue. It may not be generally known, that at the foot of what is now Morgan Street-then called North Point-Robert Fulton built his first steamboat. The old wind-mill stood north of Montgomery Street and east of Greene Street, where the Pennsylvania Railroad yard now is. It was considered the best mill in America, and was owned by Isaac Edge. The old ' Jersey Bank' was at the corner of Grand and Greene Streets, where the Morris Canal and Banking Company's office now is. Mr. Durand was president and T. B. Kis- sam cashier. The bonds were not stolen by the officers. There were few curbs and gutters to the streets in those days. There was, of course, no railroad, and New York depended for its food supplies upon wagons. Teams of from four to six horses used to come into the market ground, where Washington Square now is, all the way from Pennsylvania, bringing produce and returning with ‘store goods.' On that little plot the produce of Sussex, Warren, Morris, Passaic, Bergen, and other counties changed hands."
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step. And this forms the second epoch in the history of Presbyterianism in Jersey City-the building of their first house of worship.
I say their first house of worship; but I may add it was, by a number of years, the first house of worship built here by any denomination. And if any doubt should exist whether the Presbyterians were the first to hold religious services in this city, certainly none exists, that in God's good providence they were the first to build a house for His worship. And indeed it was so truly the only regular church building in the place for several years, that, on the Sabbath, persons of all denominations-Epis- copalians, Reformed Dutch, and others as well as Presbyte- rians-were. in the habit of attending service there, although the church was distinctively Presbyterian.
In Dr. Miller's paper, already referred to, we read as fol- lows: "A short time before the year 1824 they called the Rev. James S. Olcott to be their minister. He was their first stated pastor, and, under his ministrations, they became so far strengthened and encouraged as to undertake the erection of a house of worship."
At this time, therefore, I find the first notice of the incor- poration of the congregation. I hold in my hands the orig- inal paper, endorsed "Incorporation of the First Presbyterian Church and Congregation of Jersey City," and marked as recorded in the Clerk's office in the County of Bergen, on the 24th day of December, 1825 .* This paper sets forth that the subscribers have been duly elected trustees of a church and congregation in Jersey City, have taken the pre- scribed oaths, and that the church is to be known and distin- guished by the name and title of "The First Presbyterian Church and Congregation of Jersey City." And then follow the signatures and seals of the first trustees, six in number : Samuel Cassidy, Robert Gilchrist, E. R. Dayton, John Con- dit, John Seaman, A. J. Yates. I wish you to note this
* Book W. 2 of Deeds.
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fact, for it has been doubted whether this was ever a Pres- byterian organization. And even within a few days I have heard it intimated that there was some doubt whether it was a Presbyterian or a Reformed Dutch. This point, you see, is clearly settled.
As has already been mentioned, the Rev. James S. Olcott had now been for several years their pastor, and they went on to build a suitable church. The money for the building was raised in good part by him from various quarters. Dr. Miller's words are : " In this enterprise Mr. Olcott was act- ive and successful. He solicited contributions not only from the members of his own congregation, but from the friends of Presbyterianism in the neighboring parts of New Jersey and in the city of New York." For the lot on which the build- ing was placed the congregation was indebted (as were also so many other Churches-the Episcopal, the Methodist, the Catholic, and finally this church where we now are) to the liberal foresight of the company called " The Jersey As- sociates," who, as already stated, became the proprietors of what was called "Paulus Hoeck," and who immediately laid out certain portions of land for church purposes. Mr. David Smith, of this city, states that this was in 1804. On application to these, at different times as they were needed by the several churches now occupying the ground, deeds for four full lots each were granted to four different denomi- nations-Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Catholic, and Method- ist-in a straight line running through from Sussex Street to York Street. The first occupied was that of the Presby- terians. The appropriation of this was peculiar. At first it is said to have been offered * by the Associates to an or- ganization that might possibly be formed by the Dutch Classis on the south side of Grand Street as far back as 1807, provided they would erect a suitable building within two years; and also that an application was made by the Rev. John Cornelison, of Bergen, and the Rev. Peter Stry-
* Dr. Taylor's History, p. 343.
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ker, of Belleville, to the Classis to have such an organization effected, at " the desire of the inhabitants of Jersey City." A committee was appointed by the Classis and ministerial supplies provided ; but in 1808 the committee reported that there were too few communicants and that the.organization was impracticable. The gift, therefore, was not made, and the ground lay unappropriated until 1825, when the same land was deeded to " The First Presbyterian Church of Jer- sey City," then worshipping in the "Town Hall," for the purpose of erecting a church. We shall see presently that this title was some time after relinquished and the land was transferred to the Reformed Dutch Church, who now hold it.
I hold in my possession an extract from the records of the Jersey Associates. It appears that the order of application for the Presbyterians was as follows : The first application was made by the Rev. Alexander G. Frazer, of the Presby- tery of Elizabethtown, for land in order to build a church and for a cemetery, in behalf of " The Presbyterian Church of Jersey City and Harsimus." This was as far back as Sep- tember 5, 1818. On the second day of November, 1818, leave was granted, and four lots on the north side of Grand Street were donated and accepted. . The grant was made to them under the title of " The Presbyterian Congregation of Jersey City and Harsimus," and the proviso was added that the building be erected in three years from date. This land was the same as that afterward occupied by the Catholic church in Jersey City. From the same document I find that soon after, or on the 9th day of November, 1818, Mr. John P. Durand was appointed a committee to select other lots than those chosen. He reported at the next meeting, and the lots assigned were those on the south side of Grand Street-the same as thosein 1807 offered to the Reformed Dutch and not appropriated from failure to comply with the conditions. At the same meeting Mr. Kissam, as secretary, applied for ground on which to build a Protestant Episcopal church .* The condition above-
* Statement in MS. given me by the late Hon. D. S. Gregory.
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named, of building in three years, was not fulfilled by the Presbyterians, and the land now twice offered by the Asso- ciates was still unappropriated.
But in 1825 the Rev. James S. Olcott, having now become the pastor of the church, again renewed the application, and a committee was appointed " with power to agree to such a grant for the purpose aforesaid as they may deem advisa- ble." This application was made just one month and eight days after the incorporation of the church. The result was that upon the appointment of the committee, or soon after, the grant was renewed by the Associates and the lots on the south side of Grand Street were deeded to " The First Pres- byterian Church of Jersey City."# The building was begun in 1826. The corner-stone was laid May 18th of that year by Col. Richard Varick, President of the Jersey City Asso- ciates.t This was exactly 50 years ago last May .; The builder was Mr. Jacob D. Van Winkle, of Bergen, with Mr. Stephen Seaman, now living in Jersey Avenue,§ one of his carpenters. It is stated by two persons still living in Jersey City that worship was held in the building before the pews were put in, the congregation being accommodated for the service with boards to sit upon. Mr. David W. Stone, born here in 1816 (now of North Plainfield, N. J.), and whose fa- ther had a pew in the building, informs me that he remem- bers well that general subscriptions were made for the build- ing and taken out, in part at least, for pews, and that the pews were drawn for; that each pew was valued at twenty- five dollars, and also that each one paid one dollar for paint- ing his pew. As the building had eighty pews on the ground floor, this, if all were sold, must have amounted to two thou- sand dollars. It is not probable that all were sold.
The building, at first, had no end gallery. Indeed this was not put in, I believe, for eight or ten years afterward.
* Dr. Taylor, in his Annals, p. 344, says that this was in 1828. This is evidently an error, as the building was begun in 1826.
+ Winfield's History, p. 387.
§ 1876.
# A.D. 1876.
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One corner of the building was upon the marsh; and in heavy rains and high tides there was danger to the building. Dr. Benjamin Taylor, of Bergen, has a recollection of one occasion when Mr. J. Morrison, the elder, came up in haste to the Reformed Dutch farmers, and procured teams and wagons to hasten down and fill in, so as to prevent the sinking of one end of the house.
To show the enterprise of the Presbyterian body, and also to suggest the difficulties with which they had to con- tend in erecting and maintaining this only house of worship in the place, I beg you to note that at this period the City of Jersey, so called, had been incorporated only about six years. It was, and continued to be for twelve years longer, under the rule of a Board of Selectmen and their President. And the inhabitants numbered less than one thousand .* Two years later (1829) there were only ten hundred and twenty-five. In this frame building our Presbyterian pred- ecessors met to worship God, under the pastoral care of the Rev. James S. Olcott, for about four years.+
They and their pastor were in connection with what, at first, had been called the Presbytery of New York; after- ward (in 1810, that Presbytery having been divided) the Presbytery of Jersey, and within the bounds of the Synod of New York and New Jersey. But in 1825 it became the Presbytery of Newark, and was, in connection with the Synod of New Jersey ; the old Synod of New York and New Jersey having that year been divided into two-the Synod of New York and the Synod of New Jersey. The elders were John Morrison, John Seaman, and Benjamin Decker. The trustees I have before mentioned.
The very circumstances of the case as thus exhibited, and indeed their own statement to the Presbytery made after- ward on the event of their passing over to the Reformed
* For these and following statements as to incorporation -- induc- tion of first Mayor, etc .- see Winfield's History, pp. 287, 288.
+ Dr. Miller says "five or six years," which is plainly an error.
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Dutch body,* shows that they were comparatively few, and that they got on only by painstaking and self-sacrifice.
In the month of July the Rev. James S. Olcott sought from the Presbytery the dissolution of the pastoral relation. The cause for this, as stated by the Rev. Dr. Miller, was Mr. Olcott's failing health.t The request was granted, the pastoral relation was dissolved, and Mr. Olcott for the rest of his life preached elsewhere. This step produced another change in Presbyterian affairs in Jersey City. This was the transfer of the congregation and the property to the Re- formed Dutch Church. It forms the third salient point in the history of the Presbyterian Church here.
A good deal of controversy arose on this subject at the time of the dedication of this building in which we are now assembled. Let me endeavor to give a true statement of the case, after a careful search. I think, that on the review, you will not judge anybody to have been much to blame. The following I find well confirmed by the statements from both sides, and by written documents. in my possession. Let me state it, and close my remarks for to-day.
It appears that after Mr. Olcott left them, the congrega- tion became even more feeble than before, and the Session had difficulty in getting forward. I find, however, from their memorial that they nevertheless tried faithfully to procure a pastor. Just before this time (in 1828) the pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in Bergen, the Rev. John Cornelison, had died, and his successor, the Rev. Benjamin C. Taylor, had been installed. A prominent candidate in the minds of some, for that pulpit, had been the Rev. Ste- phen H. Meeker, settled at Bushwick, on Long Island. A number of the Reformed Dutch people, who lived in Ahas- imus and Jersey City, were warm friends of his. These
* See extract from the minutes of the Presbytery, in a statement of the elders, on a following page.
t Dr. Miller's MS., before referred to.
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persons, now seeing the pulpit of the Presbyterian Church in Jersey City vacant, proposed that Mr. Meeker should be called ; and they offered in that event to fall in with the enterprise. There was no proposal, however, on their part that its ecclesiastical relations should be changed. Moved by this impulse, the elders invited Mr. Meeker to preach in the Presbyterian Church. This fully accords with Dr. Mil- ler's statement, who says that "Mr. Meeker preached for them several times with great acceptance." The congrega- tion thereupon called him to the pastorate. Mr. Meeker delayed for some time to reply ; and finally, being pressed for an answer, he informed them that he could not accept, as he did not wish to leave the Reformed Dutch Church. According to the elders' own statement, the question was then distinctly put to him: "Whether he would accept a call to Jersey City if a Reformed Dutch Church was organ- ized ?" To this he responded in the affirmative. The Rev. B. C. Taylor was now approached, by Elder Morrison and others, to ascertain if the church at Bergen would yield some of its own members to the enterprise, provided the Presbyterian congregation went over to the Reformed Dutch body. Dr. Taylor tells me that he replied he would do nothing unless a regular application should be made to the Classis for organization, giving the number and names of the families who should apply. This brought the matter to a crisis. A public meeting of the Presbyterian congre- gation was called for the 3d day of January, 1830, to con- sider the question of a change of their ecclesiastical rela- tions. The meeting was held on Sabbath, after divine service. I think Dr. Taylor preached. It is in a manu- script of the church that Elder John Seaman presided, and Mr. Andrew Anderson acted as secretary. A statement of the efforts to obtain Mr. Meeker as pastor was then made, with the result that the trustees had solicited from him a distinct answer to the question, " If we become a Reformed Dutch Church, will you accept the pastorate?" and that he had replied in the affirmative. And the Session and trus-
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tees then and there asked the congregation to decide whether they would make the change. A statement was then made (I think by. Dr. Taylor, for he tells me that he did make such a statement at some time) of the difference between the Presbyterian and the Reformed Dutch churches. These having been found to relate to minor matters affect- ing the time for which ruling elders are elected, the congrega- tion then passed two resolutions, as follows: "I. Resolved, That it is expedient to effect a change of our church rela- tions from the Presbytery of Newark to the Classis of Ber- gen of the Reformed Dutch Church." This was passed ; ayes 68, noes 2. Dr. Taylor tells me he heard one No, very decided, and he named the man. There might, he says, have been others ; but he did not hear them. The official report gives two in the negative. "2. Resolved, That the Session and trustees of this church be and they hereby are empowered to carry this resolution into effect." One of the elders was about removing from Jersey City. The Ses- sion dismissed all the members, without exception, to the new Reformed Dutch Church to be organized, and then dismissed each other. The trustees of the church soon after executed a sort of quit-claim for the property to the trustees of the new Dutch Church ; and a subsequent act of the Jersey Associates, at the suggestion of the late Mr. Peter Bentley, transferred not long afterward the property to them. The Classis of Bergen met, and the application for organization was made. "A petition signed by forty- eight heads of families, and thirty-eight communicants, was presented to the Classis on the 16th day of February in that year (1830), and was acted upon favorably. A Consistory was duly elected and ordained, and thus the church was duly constituted."* The organization was thus effected, the property passed into their hands, and they became and still continue to be the First Reformed Dutch Church of Jersey City.+ From the records of the Presbytery of Newark, un-
* Dr. Taylor's Annals, p. 344.
t In 1876. Disbanded April, 1886.
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der date of October, 1830, we learn that " a communication from the elders. of the church of Jersey City was received and read, and it was ordered that it be put on the files of the Presbytery." This communication was dated February 16, 1830, the same day on which the petition (as above stated) was presented to the Classis. A copy of that com- munication, attested by the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery, I hold in my hands. It sets forth what I have stated, viz. : the change and the reasons for it from the beginning. It de- clares that the congregation was convinced that the step was the best to be taken under the circumstances. It then pro- ceeds to say that it was from no intended disrespect what- ever to the Presbytery that the case had not been first presented to the Presbytery for its consideration and that the Session had acted in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the congregation, but simply because it had been evident to them that to have waited until the Presby- tery had been consulted would have materially impeded their efforts to procure the minister whom they hoped to receive. The Presbytery heard this communication, but I think took no action. The church, I find, is regularly re- corded on their roll, sent to the General Assembly, for seven years afterward as the Presbyterian Church of Jersey City. But in April, 1838, a committee of inquiry having been appointed by the Presbytery to ascertain the existing con- dition of the congregation, a report was made and the church was dropped from the roll of the Presbytery. This tells the whole story. And now, looking at all the facts of the case in evidence, I think the just line is drawn as follows: In the first place, the Presbyterians had no one to blame for the change but themselves. It was a clearly understood and almost unanimous determination of the people to pass over their organization and their property for what they considered to be a suitable equivalent (due support) to the Reformed Dutch body. And in the next place, if any one or more of them objected-as they had a right to do and did-it was still only the objection of a very small minority,
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and could not affect the validity of the transfer. It was, whether advantageous or not, the act of the Presbyterian congregation themselves, and they could justly find no fault with any one. On the other hand, it seems not unreason- able to suppose that our Dutch friends did not shed many tears upon the transfer being made. This, I say, tells the whole story. And all thoughts of debate or dissatisfaction may hereafter be buried out of sight.
Thus, after continuing about twenty-six years in exist- ence from the first regular preaching of the Gospel to them, and exactly twenty-one years since its organization (from January 10, 1809, to January, 1830, when the meeting to make the change was held), the First Presbyterian Church of Jersey City passed out of existence by the act of the congregation itself, and for fourteen years afterward there existed no Presbyterian church in Jersey City what- ever.
Mr. Meeker continued pastor of the new Reformed Dutch church for only a few months, and then returned to his for- mer charge in Bushwick, L. I., where he remained until his death, which took place only a short time ago. The con- gregation went forward harmoniously in its new church re- lations. Presbyterians coming to the city, of which there soon began to be many, cast in their lot with the First Re- formed Dutch church, and thus for fourteen years they con- tinued to worship together. As an interesting reminiscence, I hold in my hand a diagram of the pews in the old church edifice before the gallery was put in, with the name of each occupant as they were seated on the Sabbath-Presbyte- rians and Reformed Dutch seated side by side. This was about the year 1836. This list of names and their position in the church would doubtless call up many pleasant and some sad memories to those who can recollect them- names, they are, honored in Jersey City; a few of them still remaining with their descendants, but others gone be- fore to the assembly above.
This Reformed Dutch church had in succession as pas-
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tors * after Mr. Meeker, the Rev. James R. Talmage, Feb- ruary 8, 1831. It was then still a feeble church. The con- nection lasted until January 30, 1833, during which time twenty-three were added to the church-roll. Mr. Talmage was followed November 19, 1833, by the Rev. Matthias Lusk, who continued pastor for fifteen years, until October 26, 1848. During his ministry the communion-roll reached about one hundred, and the families attending about the same number. The church was refitted and a lecture- room attached, and the congregation was freed from debt.
We pause here, as it was during his ministry that the later effort was made to introduce Presbyterianism again into Jer- sey City.
In the summer of 1853 the old building was removed nearly opposite its former site to the north side of Grand Street, in order to make room for the present fine stone structure of the First Reformed Church, and was afterward known by the name of "Park Hall." It was destroyed by fire on the night of December 12, 1864. The origin of the fire is, I believe, unknown.
This brings us to the fourth important period in this his- tory ; the time when a successful effort was made to revive and perpetuate the First Presbyterian Church of Jersey City, and which issued in the organization of our present congregation and the building of the edifice where we are now seated. The details of this movement are too many and too interesting to be taken up now. I shall, therefore, reserve this account until next Sabbath morning.
And now, as we pass from this review of our early his- tory, so feeble and so changeful, let me remind you-
I. That as beginnings are very important in all valuable earthly enterprises, so are they also in God's worship; and hence the Scripture admonishes us not to despise the day of small things. How small was Abraham's family in the be-
* For account of successive pastors during the following fourteen years, see Dr. Taylor's Annals, pp. 344, 345.
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