USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > Tennent > History of the Old Tennent church : containing : a connected story of the church's life, sketches of its pastors, biographical references to its members, all its earlier record lists, full quotations of its earlier historical records, a complete list of burials in all its graveyards, many of its local traditions, most of its important illustations and maps, an account of the battle of Monmouth, and a large collection of genealogical notes > Part 11
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Married, by Rev. D. V. McLean on Sep. 21, 1836, Garret B. Conover and Teresa Reid : on the same day also Joseph Combs and Matilda Woodhull.
In 1835 the congregation "Resolved that the outside of the church be painted red. After this resolution was passed, some further dis- cussion took place, respecting the Colour, whereupon it was agreed that the committee be authorized to paint the out side white, provided the exspence between red and white be made up without charge to the congregation." It can still be remembered that the church was red on three sides and the front was white. Possibly there was a time when the church was painted in red on all four sides.
132
HISTORY OF OLD TENNENT.
CHAPTER XIII.
REV. JAMES CLARK, D. D. 1837-1839.
Exactly one year after Dr. McLean left the Old Tement pulpit, Rev. James Clark was installed pastor of the church, Nov. 8, 1837. He was born in the city of Philadelphia March 9, 1812. He studied in the University of Pennsylvania and in the Princeton Theological Seminary with honor and capacity ; and he extended his studies for some time in France and Germany, manifesting considerable linguistic powers. Polished and cultured in all his speech, whether written or spoken, he was also an earnest Christian and a strong supporter of the missionary cause. He was ordained by the Presbytery of New Brunswick in session at Old Tennent on the same day in which he was installed pastor of the church. He remained in this his first charge for about two years, until Oct. 2, 1839. After this he was pastor of several churches, and for a time President of Washington College, Pa. During the latter part of his life he was a resident of Philadelphia, and without pastoral charge. He was honored with the title of Doctor of Divinity by Jefferson College in 1850. His death occurred Nov. 1, 1892, in the Sist year of his age. In the spring of 1837 Mr. Clark married Julia Woodhull, second daughter of John T. Woodhull, M. D., a ruling elder in Old Tennent. During his pastorate he lived in the home of Mrs. Robert Roy, boarding with her. Mrs. Clark died at Richmond, Lower Mount Bethel, Pa., Dec .. 10, 1839, in her 24th year, and was buried there. Mr. Clark after- wards married Sarah Ann Randolph, daughter of Francis Randolph and Phebe Crane his wife, and sister to Bennington Randolph. In the spring of 1839 Old Tennent reported to Presbytery ;- added on1 examination 10, on certificate 3 ; total number of members 236 ; adults. baptized 5, infants baptized 5 ; contributions to Home Missions $61 ; contributions to Foreign Missions $61.
During the incumbency of Dr. McLean the old parsonage with the farm land attached was sold, as mentioned in Chap. III Near the close of Mr. Clark's ministry, the congregation purchased a house and lot in Englishtown for a parsonage. This property was bought of Margaret Perrine, April 18, 1839, for the sum of $2, 100. It coll-
133
REV. JAMES CLARK, D. D.
¢
REV. JAMES CLARK, D. D
tained four acres of land. Subsequently, May 1, 1841, more land was bought, which appears to have been added to the parsonage, since it was a lot of land " situate lying and being near the village of Englishtown in Freehold." It contained ten and one one-hun- dredth acres, and was obtained of Dr. J. Smith English, guardian of Cornelia Ann Clayton (minor) at $24.05 per acre. These two lots of land were sold by the congregation March 15, 1850, to Juliet Conover for $2050. This parsonage house afterwards passed through the hands of several owners. It has since been remodelled and con- siderably enlarged, and was the home for many years of the late John H. Laird. It is now owned and occupied by William E. Mount.
OLD TENNENT'S PRESBYTERIAL CONNECTIONS.
Old Tennent has been connected with several different Presbyteries, some of which have been famous in the history of the Presbyterian
134
HISTORY OF OLD TENNENT.
Church in America. Obviously Old Tennent was first connected with the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and appears to have been the first of all the churches of New Jersey to belong to that parent of all the American Presbyteries. The first extant record of the meeting of that Presbytery relates to the ordination of Mr. John Boyd. The Synod of Philadelphia was formed in 1716. That Synod established the Presbytery of East Jersey in 1733, by dividing the Presbytery of Philadelphia. The manner in which this record reads, together with the fact that Old Tennent ( Freehold) was located in the district called "East Jersey," seems to imply that the church was included in the organization of that Presbytery ; and in some instances after this in the records Rev. Wm. Tennent, Jr., is spoken of as a member of East Jersey Presbytery. Then in 1738 the Synod of Philadelphia formed the Presbytery of New York by uniting the remnants of the Presbytery of Long Island with the Presbytery of East Jersey, of which Old Tennent was then a member ; and therefore the church became connected with New York. Two days later, on May 26, 1738, at the same session, the Synod erected the Presbytery of New Brunswick, and included Old Tennent within its bounds. Of that Presbytery of New Brunswick Rev. Wmn. Tennent, Jr., was one of the five original members that came from the Presbytery of New York. He with his elder, Robert Cumming, was present at its first meeting in New Brunswick Ang. 8, 1738. Rev. Gilbert Tennent opened the Presbytery at this its first meeting with a sermon on the text John 21 : 15. Its third meeting was held at Old Tennent ( Freehold) Sep. 7, 1738, and John Henderson was the elder present to represent the church. After one hundred and twenty-one years in this connection Old Tennent made another change. The Synod of New Jersey in Oct. 1859, erected the Presbytery of Monmouth, and named Old Tennent as one of its twelve original churches. This Presbytery was wholly formed out of the Pby. of New Brunswick, and in 1870 at the Reunion became the legal successor to the Presbytery of Burling- ton of thirteen churches, and at the same time received five more from the Pby. of New Brunswick and one, Lakewood, from the Pby. of Newark. The first meeting of the Presbytery of Monmouth was held in Old Tennent church Jan. 11, 1860, when Rev. Charles F. Worrell preached the opening sermon from Eph. 2 : 8. At that meet- ing elder James Rue represented the Old Tennent church, and the pastor, Rev. Donald McLaren, was made the first stated Clerk of the
135
REV. JAMES CLARK, D. D.
Presbytery. Thus summing up Old Tennent's Presbyterial connec- tions they are as follows :--
I. From the first records to 1733 with Pby. of Philadelphia.
2. From 1733 to 1738 with Pby. of East Jersey.
3. From 1738 to 1738 (2 days only ) with Pby. of New York.
4. From 1738 to 1859 with Pby. of New Brunswick.
5. From 1859 to present time with Pby. of Monmouth.
During the discussions and difficulties in the Presbyterian Church throughout the country in the years 1837 and '38, which finally resulted in the division of Old and New School, there is apparently nothing in the records to show that Rev. James Clark (who was pas- tor in Old Tennent at that time), did for himself or for his congrega- tion manifest any other desire than to support the principles of the Old School branch of the Church. He, and his elder William I. Thompson, at the meeting of the Presbytery of New Brunswick in Oct. 1838, doubtless voted in the affirmative (for the vote was tinan- imous) on the adoption of the resolution "That this Presbytery hereby declares its cordial adherence to the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, on the basis of the Acts of 1837 and 1838, of the General Assemblies, for the reformation and pacification of the Church." In this connection Old Tennent remained through all the period of division, until the happy Reunion of the two Branches in November 1869 at Pittsburgh, Pa.
About 1840, or previously, it was the custom to have the floors of Old Tennent church "sanded" three times a year, just before the three annual communion services.
136
HISTORY OF OLD TENNENT.
CHAPTER XIV.
REV. LUTHER HALSEY VAN DOREN. 1840-1856.
The tenth pastor of Old Tennent was the Rev. L. H. Van Doren. He was the child of eminently pious parents, his father being a most godly minister, and his mother a devout woman, a sister of Rev. Job F. Halsey, a former pastor of Old Tennent. Mr. Van Doren was one in a family of fourteen children, of whom it was said "all received the adoption of sons and daughters of the Lord." He was born at Hopewell, Orange Co., New York, March 14, 1808, and at the early age of twelve years made a public profession of faith in Christ. In 1831 he graduated at Princeton College. Afterwards he studied for orders in the Episcopal Church, under Bishop R. B. Smith of Ken- tucky. But later, he decided to enter the Presbyterian Church. In 1834 he was ordained by the Presbytery of Columbia, Mo., and soon after began preaching in St. Louis, where he organized what after- wards became a large and flourishing church. Old Tennent called him to her service, offering him an annual compensation of $700 with the use of the parsonage house and lot in Englishtown. On June 17, 1840, he was installed pastor of the old church, and continned in this relation for about half a generation. During his ministry at Tennent the work of the Lord greatly prospered in the church. More than one revival greatly added to the membership of the communion. Conspicuous among these times of refreshing was the season of 1848, when on April 2, 110 persons united with Old Tennent communion. That year's statistical report shows that 115 persons had been added to the church during the foregoing year, all but 3 of whom were on confession of faith ; while the whole number of communicants was 433. Two years later, 1850, the total membership was 481, doubtless the largest number of communicants the church ever had in any one year. Most of the revival meetings of 1848, which continued for about seven weeks, were held in the old school house at Englishtown, and about 250 persons arose for prayers. Old Tennent about that time appears to have had what was called "the Lecture room" in that village. William M. Paxton, who was at that time a young man not quite twenty-four years of age and a student in Princeton
1 37
REV. LUTHER HALSEY VAN DOREN.
REV LUTHER H VAN DOREN.
Theological Seminary, frequently preached in those meetings with great acceptance ; and because of his youth he was called "The Boy Preacher." He has now for some years been professor in homiletics in the same seminary in which he studied.
During the former part of Mr. Van Doren's pastorate he resided in the parsonage at Englishtown of which mention has been made. He was the first pastor to occupy this parsonage, at least for any con- siderable length of time : and he was the last one. Afterwards Mr. Van Doren moved to a farm, his own property, situated about half way between Englishtown and Tennent. There he lived for some years. He was twice married ; first to Miss Susan Wynkoop, of Bucks Co., Pa., and second, in 1840, to Miss Lydia Ann Carnahan, daughter of President Carnahan of Princeton College. After Mr. Van Doren's ministry closed at Old Tennent, July 5, 1856, he served several churches in different places. His death occurred Oct. 5, 1876 at Middletown, N. J.
About 1850 a clock was placed in the church room, and also at the same time window blinds were set in, possibly those on each side of the pulpit. In the latter part of Mr. Van Doren's pastorate proposi- tions were made at various congregational meetings to alter and
138
HISTORY OF OLD TENNENT.
remodel the pulpit, pews, and gallery of the church, to lower the pulpit three steps, to rebuild the church edifice with or without using the old frame, and to erect a new church edifice on the sight of the old church. At times some of these propositions appeared to meet with some approval. But either because of a strong opposition throughout the congregation against making a change in the old house, or from failure to secure funds for rebuilding, or from both these reasons combined with others no change was made, and the old edifice remains essentially the same as in the days of Wmn. Tennent. After the discussion of these propositions was settled the congregation went to work and repaired and painted the church building, which is one of the means by which it has been preserved to this day.
In 1844 funds were being gathered, by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, among the people of Old Tennent for the permanent endowment of Princeton Seminary, and a subscription paper (still preserved ) shows the results as follows : - "We, the subscribers, agree to pay the sums opposite our names, to aid in the permanent endow- ment of the Theological Seminary at Princeton. The subscriptions are payable in 3 mos., or according to the directions of the subscri- bers ; and if not paid at the time specified, it is agreed that they bear interest at 6 pr. ct.
Freehold, Nov. 25, 1844. Recd. from Rev. Mr. Doren from his church in addition to
what I recd. while there
L. H. Van Doren & Lydia Ann Van Doren, pd. by Win Sutphin
10.00
Saralı T. Roy
10.00
Mrs. Alice Conover
2.00
James Bowne
5.00
Jane A. Roy
1.00
Joseph L. Covenhoven
5 00
Sidney Thompson
1.00
William Cowenhowen
5.00
John Gordon
1.00
David R. Vanderveer
5.00
Jolın Perrine
1.00
D. Polhemus
5.00
Mary Ann Carr
1.00
John Englishı
5.00
Mrs. Jane Conover
1.50
Robert E. Craig
3.00
Miss Lydia Perine
1.50
Mrs. Anna Vanderveer
2.00
Mrs. John Perine
1.00
Margaret Thompson
2.50
Mrs. Mary Perine
1.00
Joseph C. Thompson
3.00
Jonathan L. D.
1.00
Wm. G. Denise
2.00
Miss x x x
1.00
Mrs. Gertrude Conover
3.00
W. L. De Bow
1.00
E. L. Cowart
3.00
A. B. Ammerman
1.50
David Laird
3.00
Mrs. Rhoda Sutphin
1.00''
$25.00
I 39
REV. LUTHER HALSEY VAN DOREN.
The funds appear to have been gathered by a committee, and the paper will speak for itself, giving some idea of the people's benefi- cence : but long before this Old Tennent had shown a generous interest to help young men prepare for the ministry.
JAMESBURG CHURCH.
And now again Old Tennent was connected with and contributed to the formation of other churches. In the early part of the nine- teenth century the Methodists held services in the school house near to where Cornelius Mount subsequently lived. Also they held regu- lar services at John Hoffman's, between Englishtown and Jamesburg. But earnest though they were, they "failed to hold or fully occupy" the field, for ministers of other denominations began to supply the district with preaching, notably among which were the Presbyterians. Pastors from Cranbury and from Tennent, with now and then others, held occasional services in Jamesburg. Subsequently these services became more regular through different supplies, until June 6, 1854, when the Jamesburg Presbyterian church was organized by a com- mittee from the Presbytery of New Brunswick, consisting of Revs. Symmes C. Henry, J. W. Blythe, L. H. Van Doren, and S. D. Alexander. Of the eleven charter members only one came from Old Tennent, and this was Jolin B. Johnson, a ruling elder in the old church at that time. He and John C. Vandeveer were elected elders of the Jamesburg church. But in less than one month afterward, July 2, 1854, Mr. Johnson was dismissed back to Old Tennent, hav- ing been borrowed, as was said, for the purpose of completing the Jamesburg organization at that time. Rev. J. Halstead Carroll was the first pastor of the Jamesburg church.
MANALAPAN CHURCH.
Manalapan is a district that has been long settled, and for many years was mostly included in the bounds of Old Tennent congrega- tion. In April 1856 between two and three hundred persons of Manalapan and vicinity, forty-seven of whom were members of Pres- byterian churches, petitioned the Presbytery of New Brunswick to organize a church in that neighborhood to be known as "The Man- alapan Church." Presbytery granted the request and appointed a committee on organization : Rev. Symmes C. Henry, D. D., chair- man, Rev. S. D. Alexander, and Rev. J. M. Rogers, with elders
140
HISTORY OF OLD TENNENT.
Bennington F. Randolph and Elias Dye. The church edifice having been begun in 1855 was in due time completed, and on July 31, 1856, it was dedicated, Dr. S. C. Henry preaching the sermon from the text Ezra 6 : 16. On the same day, immediately after this service, the committee appointed by Presbytery organized the church with 48 members, all of whom presented letters of dismission from other churches, 34 from Perrineville, 9 from Old Tennent, and the remain- der from the first church of Cranbury and the village church of Free- hold. William P. Forman, John J. Ely, John W. Vanschoick, and Gilbert S. Reid were elected and installed ruling elders, all of whom had been elders in the Perrineville church ( First church of Millstone). Rev. Jolin Leslie Kehoo was the first pastor of the Manalapan church. "Manalapan" is an old Indian name and is said to mean "good corn land," which is a true description of its farms.
141
REV. DONALD MCLAREN, D. D.
CHAPTER XV.
REV. DONALD MC LAREN, D. D.
1857-1862.
A few months after the close of Mr. Van Doren's term of service the church called Rev. Joseph G. Symmes to its pastorate. This call was dated Nov. 25, 1856. Mr. Symmes, then preaching in Madison, Indiana, did not see his way clear to accept the call, but just one generation later his second son, as a sort of belated substitute for his father, was installed pastor of the church.
Rev. Donald McLaren followed Mr. Van Doren as pastor in Old Tement. He was born in Caledonia, N. Y., March 7, 1834. His father, Rev. Donald C. McLaren, D. D., was a prominent member of the Associate Reformed Church, of which Church he was the last Moderator, as such participating in that union with the Associate Church which resulted in the formation of the United Presbyterian Church. Mr. McLaren graduated from Union College, Schenectady, in the class of 1853, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in the class of 1857. It was a very interesting coincidence that three mem- bers of the Seminary class of 1857 should have been settled at nearly the same time, and in closely related adjoining churches in Mon- mouth : Rev. Frank Chandler in the Freehold Village church, Rev. John L. Kehoo in the new church at Manalapan, and Mr. McLaren at Old Tennent. The introduction of the latter to his future pastorate was indirectly due to his friend Mr. Chandler, who had accepted a call to the church in Freehold early in the winter previous to his graduation from the Seminary, and it was arranged that he should provide supplies for his pulpit until Spring. Mr. McLaren preached as one of these supplies, and later, upon the suggestion of Mrs. D. Clark Perrine one of the members of the church in Freehold, was invited to preach in Old Tennent. It happened that the letter from Rev. Jos. G. Symmes declining the call to Old Tennent, was handed to Mr. McLaren, upon the occasion of his visit, to be read from the pulpit, and the hearts of the people seemed at once to turn towards the youthful Princeton student. Not many weeks after, before his graduation from the Seminary, he received and accepted a call to Old Tennent, which promised him a salary of $1000. He had previously
142
HISTORY OF OLD TENNENT.
REV. DONALD MCLAREN, D. D.
been licensed to preach by the Associate Reformed Presbytery of Caledonia. Mr. McLaren was ordained to the ministry and installed as pastor of the Old Tennent church by the Pby. of New Brunswick July 1, 1857 : the ordination sermon was preached by his father from the text Dan. 12 : 3. On July -, 1858, Mr. McLaren was married in Princeton to Miss Bessie Stockton Green, daughter of Prof. Jacob Green one of the founders of the Jefferson Medical School of Phila- delphia, and grand-daughter of Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, one of the presidents of Princeton College. Of the seven children of Mr. and Mrs. McLaren, all of whom are living ( 1904), a son and a daughter were born in Tennent parsonage. This son, Donald C., the name-
143
REV. DONALD McLAREN, D. D.
sake of his grandfather, was ordained in Old Tennent church Jan. 19, 1886, by the Pby. of Monmouth meeting there : the sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. A. A. Hodge, and the charge to the young missionary, who was to go out and labor in Brazil, was given by his father.
One of the notable events of Mr. McLaren's pastorate in Old Ten- nent was the building of a church edifice in Englishtown. The most of the people in that village were members of the Tennent church, and many being without means of conveyance, and so rarely able to attend the mother church, it had been the custom for many years for the pastors to hold afternoon or evening services, sometimes in the Englishtown school house, but more frequently in the Methodist church, the use of which was always courteously granted to the Pres- byterians. The matter of erecting a Presbyterian church had often been considered, but there had been difficulties in the way of an agreement upon a site ; these disappeared through the instrumentality of Dr. Polhemus who secured an eligible plot in the center of the vil- lage. The project awakened deep interest in the village and through- out the surrounding country. The people contributed generously and joyfully to the work. The pastor joined with others in personally soliciting the most of the subscriptions. The building cost about $4000. Although a separate Board of Trustees was formed to hold the property, there was no intention whatever at that time to organize a new church. This was the development of later years.
In the autumn of 1861 the health of Mr. McLaren having been seriously impaired, he tendered the resignation of his pastoral charge. At a large congregational meeting called to act upon this resignation, the people asked that it be withdrawn and voted to grant the pastor a rest for six months, continuing his salary and providing by special subscriptions for the supply of the pulpit. During a large portion of the time the pastor was absent the pulpit was supplied by Rev. A. P. Cobb, who ultimately became Mr. McLaren's successor. At the end of the six months' vacation Mr. McLaren was so far restored that he resumed his work. However after another half year of arduous labor, his health failed a second time, and his pastoral relation was dissolved Nov. 5, 1862. His ministrations at Old Tennent were crowned with blessings. Steadily year by year numbers were added to the church and the congregation built up. The goodly number of infant baptisms each year gave promise of ingatherings for the future.
144
HISTORY OF OLD TENNENT.
The introduction by the Session of a scheme of Systematic Benevolence through district collectors largely increased the Missionary contribu- tions. When Mr. McLaren left, the communicants numbered 351.
Mr. McLaren was commissioned as Chaplain in the United States Navy March 10, 1863. After many years service at the Naval Academy and other shore stations and with the fleets in different parts of the world, having reached the age fixed by law, he was in 1896 placed upon the Retired List of the Navy Wooster University, Ohio, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1880.
On May 20, 1858, some time after Mrs. Roy's death, the congre- gation purchased of the heirs of Rev. Robert Roy, through Benning- ton F. Randolph (one of the Masters of the Court of Chancery ) what had been the "Roy Parsonage." It contained nine and one-half acres of land with a house thereon, and the price paid was $2,050. Extensive repairs were made on this property, bringing the whole cost up to $4,334.90. This parsonage Dr. McLaren occupied during his pastorate at Old Tennent. He is still ( 1904) living, and kindly wrote the largest part of this chapter on his ministry.
SINGING AND MUSIC.
There is no record of the fact, yet nevertheless it is most probably true that there was a precentor in the early days who led the congre- gation in singing, and lined out the hymns and psalms according to the Scottish custom. It is an ancestral tradition that Peter Forman "led the singing in the church for some years after it was first used for the public worship." (Forman Records p. 25).
On June 26, 1797, "twas Motioned & Carryed that Jonathan Fornon Esquire And Win. Machesny Be appointed as Clercks In Congunction With Thomas Coock Esquire & David Sutphin In Reading & Singing Such Psalms as they Shall Se Proper Or Are Directed to be Sang by the Pastor Or Proper officers of Sd. Church." And on April 10, 1799, the congregation resolved "That whereas for some time past the Clerks of the Congregation have been directed to sing the first psalm on the introduction of public worship without reading the line, they be direct- ed in future to have the line of the first psalm read and to sing the second psalm without reading." From this it might appear that all hymns sung in the church were called "psalms," or that the congre- gation in those days sang only psahns.
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