USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Orange > History of the Oranges, in Essex County, N.J., from 1666 to 1806 > Part 16
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24
July
21. Phebe, dau. David Dod. Esther, dau. of Levi Vincent.
28. Samuel, son of Samuel Tomkins.
Aug. 4. Sarah, dau. Stephen Crane. Sarah, dau. of John and Elizabeth Wright.
Sep. Nathaniel, son of Thomas Grant of New York. Lydia, dau. Jonas Crane.
1779. Jan. 17. Stephen Bradford, son of Stephen Crane.
Abner, son of Samuel Dod.
1781. Sep. 2. Robert, son of Aaron Dod.
Oct.
23. Hannah, dau. of Hannah and Simeon Harrison. Bethuel, son of Abigail and Zadoc Baldwin. Jesse, son of Dorcas and Thomas Williams, Jr.
Nov. 17. Mary, dau. of Phebe and Matthias Pierson. Unis, dau. Richard Harrison.
14
210
History of the Oranges.
1782. Jan. 20. Rhoda, dau. Erastus Pierson. Hannah, dau. Bethuel Ward. Stephen, son of Ruth and John Mun. Nov. Elizabeth, dau. of Samuel and Mary Crane, of Horseneck.
1783. Mar. 23. Mary Valeria, dau. of Jedidiah and Margt Chapman.
30. James, sons of Mr. - Conolly.
Benjamin, (
Ap.
6. Mary, dau. Zadoc Hedden.
I3. Henry Earl, son Sami Crowel.
May 16. Elias, son of Permenas Riggs.
23. Hannah Allen, dau. Joseph Tomkins, of Horseneck.
June I. Nancy, Thomas, children of Jacob and Rachael Gallahan.
Phebe,
Cyrus,
22. Esther Williams, on ac. of John and Mary Tichenor.
Martha Williams, on ac. of Jedidiah Freeman and his wife.
: Anna, ) the children of the widow Williams on Silas, ยง her account.
July 6. Timothy, son of Timothy and Sarah Ward. Sept. Jonathan, Daniel, sons of Job Tomkins.
Dec. 14. Hannah, dau. of Jonathan Baldwin.
"
21. Eleazer, sons of Joseph Crane.
Nathaniel,
Nancy, Thomas, Jeptha, Hannah,
childn of Aaron Crane.
1784. Mar. 14. Isaac, son of John and Ruth Mun.
21. Caleb, son of Joseph and Mary Baldwin.
CHAPTER X.
AFTER THE WAR-PEACE.
T NO the inhabitants of Great Britain, the cessation of hostilities and the treaty of peace were welcome events. Not so were they viewed by the tories in America, who had indulged their hatred toward the land of their birth, and had given aid and comfort to its enemy. They had fattened on their illegal traffic outside the republican lines, had served in the royal army, had been flattered by promotion to posts of honor, and had fostered their ambition for higher and more permanent rewards, as they waited with assur- ance for the approaching day of British success.
In September, 1781, Prince William Henry, .the third son of George III., a midshipman under Ad- miral Digby, arrived in the Bay of New York. Being heir to the throne, he was an object of intense in- terest to the refugees, 1 who were gathered at Fort De- lancy, on Bergen Neck. On October 1st, 1781, (it being
I. These refugees were mostly from the Newark Mountain region and that adjoining. The following advertisement appeared on December 23d, 17So, in Rivington's Gazette : "All Loyal Refugees that are in want of employ- nient and can bring proper certificates of their loyalty, and are willing to enter themselves under Capt. Thomas Ward, now commanding the im- portant post of Bergen Point, will meet with the greatest encouragement by applying to Capt. Homfrey, at the sign of the Ship, corner of Fair [Fulton] Street and Broadway." This Captain (or Major) Thomas Ward, was a noted, blood-thirsty tory, from the Hackensack district.
212
History of the Oranges.
twenty days before the capture of Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown,) in behalf of the motley crew gar- risoned at Fort Delancy, Major Thomas Ward and his officers presented the following address :
"To HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCE WILLIAM HENRY.
" We, his Majesty's dutiful and most loyal subjects, the refugees stationed on Bergen Neck, beg leave to address your Royal High- ness (through the channel of our commanding officer,) on the satisfaction that is visible in the face of every individual belong- ing to our small party, at so distinguished an honor paid to the loyal inhabitants of this continent by the arrival of so amiable and distinguished a character as the son of our Royal Sovereign.
" The measures pursued by a designing, base set of men early in this unnatural contest, obliged us to leave our habitations and fly for safety to his Majesty's troops ; since which we have let our persecutors (who meant our destruction,) feel the effects of our resentment, and convince them that we contended for that which every man at the risk of his life ought to defend.
"Therefore, we flatter ourselves that your Royal Highness is convinced of our sincerity, of our attachment to their Majesties, and the Royal progeny, (which we are always ready to give fresh proof of,) praying for that day when rebellion may be crushed and peace may be established throughout this continent, and his Majesty's standard displayed triumphant by land and sea. May heaven protect your Royal Highness in time of danger, and per- mit you to return crowned with the laurels of victory to your Royal Parents !"1
About one year after this brilliant effusion, Fort Delancy was evacuated.
The loss of population, by banishment and the vol- untary exile of the tory element to the British domin- ions, was less a cause of regret to the people of East Jersey, than were the disturbing effects of the war upon the harmony of their social and domestic rela-
I. Winfield's History of Hudson County, N. J., p. 196.
213
The Mountain Society.
tions. Discord had rent asunder and destroyed the happiness of families, and the old-fashioned inter- course between neighbors had been greatly impaired. For many long years, the terms Whig and Tory were cherished and freely used. The bitterness descended to the children who were born after the war. In their sports and games,-at ball, at marbles, at snow- balling, and in the construction of snow forts in winter, they grouped themselves according to the tra- ditions of their fathers. It was not until the War of 1812, that the old animosities gave place to a cordial unity of popular sentiment.
The demoralizing effects of the seven years' conflict had disturbed the economies of our community of thriving farmers. Moral influences had lost much of their power, over the better impulses of every rank and condition of men. Removal from religious and social restraints, neglect of the Sabbath, drunkenness, vice and immorality-the bitter dregs of all war-pre- vailed in every neighborhood. "All sorts of worldly amusements absorbed the thoughts of the young, even in the most respectable and religious families." But evidences of a return to better things soon began to show themselves. Farming, manufacturing, and all religious and educational interests were quickened into activity, and it was not long before the people of the Newark Mountains returned with vigor and enthusiasm to the cultivation of the arts of peace.
THE MOUNTAIN SOCIETY.
In the first year of peace the Mountain Society, which for sixty-five years had been a religious body, applied to the Assembly of the State of New Jersey for an act of incorporation. It was granted on June 11, 1783. Joseph Riggs, Esq., John Range, Dr. Matthias Pier-
214
History of the Oranges.
son, Stephen Harrison, Jr., Samuel Dod and John Dod, were thereby appointed "Trustees of the Second Presbyterian Church of Newark." In case of death, removal or other incapacity of any of said trustees, the act provided that the vacancy, thus made, should be filled by such person or persons from the congre- John Range gation of the church as the minister, eld- ers and deacons, con- vened for that purpose, should choose. It also pro- vided that the minister, elders and deacons should have power, if they deemed it proper and for the benefit of the congregation, to remove and displace any trustee or trustees, and to elect and choose any person or persons, to supply the place or places of the trustee or trustees so removed. The act also provided that the trustees to be appointed under it, and their suc- cessors, previous to entering upon their office, should take and subscribe to the oath of allegiance to the State, prescribed in the act entitled "An act for the security of the Government of New Jersey," passed Samuel Bod the nineteenth of September, 1776, together with the
oath of office, to execute the trust reposed in them, with fidelity, etc. 1
The power vested in the minister, elders and dea- cons to appoint the trustees of the parish, gave great dissatisfaction to the people, whose democratic senti-
I. The parish records show the " Oaths of Obligation and Allegiance," which were taken by the Trustees, at their first meeting in 1783, after the passage of the act. They read thus : "I do solemnly sware that I do not hold my self Bound to bear allegiance to the King of Great Britain ; I do Solemly Profess and Sware that I do and will bear True faith and allegiance to the Government Established in this State under the Authority of the People."
215
The Church at Caldwell.
ments were becoming strengthened as the new order of things in a popular government was working out its logical result. Upon a petition to the Legislature, the charter was amended in June, 1790, making "all regular supporters of the Gospel in said congrega- tion," to be electors in the choice of trustees ; the election to be made annually on the second Thursday in April, by a plurality of votes. We may add, with propriety, that the time for holding the election of trustees was changed, in 1829, to the first day of Jan- uary, and again, in 1856, to the second Monday in April, of each year.
THE CHURCH AT CALDWELL.
Horse Neck was a part of the great Indian Pur- chase, made about 1700 ; amounting in all to 13,500 acres, 1 and lying west of the territory granted by the Lords Proprietors in the Newark patent. It contained, in 1716, about thirty-five families. The majority of the people there "paid little, if any, regard to law, human or divine. They regarded the Sabbath but as a day of sports. * * Horse-racing and cock- fighting were prevalent pastimes." In their inter- course with the Indians, they are described "as cor- rupting and being corrupted." ?
It was not uncommon to find men unable to write their names. They lived isolated, in rude log huts, on mountain paths, by springs, or wherever they could get a foothold; and with them it was a struggle to provide the simplest means of subsistence. There were some among these rude people who were God-fearing ; many of them were descendants from a pious ancestry ; and the neighboring ministers who occasionally visited
I. Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery.
2. Historical Sketch, by Rev. C. T. Berry.
216
History of the Oranges.
and preached the Gospel to them in their homes, in the open air, and in barns, found some hearts open to the truth. Darby, of Parsippany ; Green, of Hanover ; Caldwell, of Elizabethtown; and Chapman, of the Mountain Society ; regarded the whole region as mis- sionary ground.1 About 1770, the fruits of these efforts gradually appeared. Meetings began to be held on the Sabbath; and if a minister could not be had, printed sermons were read, or an hour was occu- pied with religious conference and prayer. Preaching and other regular services being seldom enjoyed, those who could do so attended the exercises at the meeting- house of the Mountain Society.
In a few years, an effort was made to build a house of worship in their own neighborhood, and the enterprise was begun by bringing together the materials for the purpose ; but the War of 1776 arrested the work, and the timber was spoiled. In 1779, the movement was renewed, as appears by the first entry (made Febru- ary 20th,) in the parish records of the "Presbyterian Congregation of Horse Neck." But the new church did not flourish, although watched over by Mr. Chap- man, whose labors were attended with a revival of re- ligion ; and many of the people, professing their faith in Christ, became members of the Mountain Society.
On December 3, 1784, (after the war,) the Caldwell Church began its ecclesiastical existence. After a sermon by Mr. Chapman, forty persons subscribed to a declaration of belief, as holding the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, and entered into covenant as a Christian Church. ?
I. Historical Sketch, by Rev. C. T. Berry.
2. The declaration and covenant were, doubtless, copied by Mr. Chap- man from the form then in use in his own church, as they are almost wholly in the same words as those which were in use in the Orange First Church down to 1859 ; when, during the pastorate of Rev. James Hoyt, a new form was adopted, but without change of sentiment and belief.
217
The Church at Caldwell.
The church was constituted Presbyterian, and elders and deacons were elected.
Like many other churches in New Jersey, the Cald- well Church did not apply for a charter at the time of its formation, but the Legislature, upon petition, passed, on March 16, 1786, an enabling act, which authorized and empowered every society or congregation of Chris- tians, of whatever creed, entitled to protection by the laws of the State, to meet and assemble for worship, and to preserve its organization by the election of trustees ; and, being thus constituted as a body politic and corporate, by whatever name it might have chosen, to have perpetual succession, with all the privileges and powers of corporations ; provided, however, that the body should consist of at least thirty families, statedly assembling at one place of worship.
By accepting the terms of this act, the long-strug- gling church began its corporate existence in 1787, as the "First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell." 1
Three years elapsed before the church was provided with a settled pastor. During this interval it was fostered by the oversight and care of Pastors Green, Chapman, Jones and McWhorter, of the parishes contiguous thereto.
The Rev. Stephen Grover was installed pastor, June 22d, 1788, and served till October, 1833. He died in 1836, aged 77. Among his successors was the Rev. Richard F. Cleveland, (1834-1840,) who was the father of Grover Cleveland, one of the Presidents of the United States.
I. Caldwell became a township, in 1798 ; it being formed from Newark and Acquackanonk, about seven miles long and four miles wide. The name of the township was selected in honor of the Rev. James Caldwell, of Eliz- abethtown.
218
History of the Oranges.
THE CHURCH AT BLOOMFIELD.
The second enterprise to which the Mountain Soci- ety contributed from its membership, was at Bloom- field. For more than a century the settlers there had no organized church of their own, and had worshiped at Newark and Orange. Measures for a new organiza- tion were begun about 1794, when a petition was pre- sented to the Presbytery, asking that the people re- siding in that part of the town should be formed into a distinct congregation, as the "Third Presbyterian Church in the township of Newark." 1
The Presbytery advised the measure, but being doubtful as to the ability of the petitioners to sustain a stated minister, the constitution of a church in due form did not take place till June, 1798. Mr. Chapman being commissioned by Presbytery to perfect the same, it was then constituted by eighty-two members ; fifty- nine from his own congregation, and twenty-three from that of Newark. Its first settled pastor was Rev. Abel Jackson, who served for eleven years.
THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT NORTHFIELD.
In Jemima Cundict's diary (1772-1778,) a part of which is transcribed in our pages, is a memorandum to the effect that " Mr. Runnels preached at the Moun- tain, and that two persons," whom she names, "were dipt." It is significant as giving, probably, the record
I. Rev. Stephen Dodd says that the congregation never seems to have adopted the name. It bore for a short time the name of the "Church at Wardsesson," a corruption of the old Indian name Watsessing. At a meet- ing in 1796, the name Wardsesson was dropped, and that of Bloomfield was adopted, in consideration of the generous aid rendered it by Gen. Joseph Bloomfield, of Burlington, who was a man of wealth, and who, amid their perplexities, had interested himself in helping them in the construction of a suitable building for the worship of God.
219
Baptist Church at Northfield.
of the first missionary effort of the Baptists in the Newark Mountains.
This missionary was the Rev. Reune Runyon, (Je- mima's spelling was phonetic,) who was ordained in Morristown in 1772, and had oversight of the church there till 1780.1 He was a zealous man, and success- ful in promoting the Baptist cause. Edwards says of him, "He is remarkable for dexterity in adminster- ing baptism. On June 30, 1786, a gentleman held his watch in his hand till he had baptised thirty in fifty- eight minutes." He was pastor of the church in Piscataway from 1783, for nearly thirty years. ?
In the year 1768, a Baptist meeting-house was built at Lyons Farms. Obed Dunham, who lived at Canoe Brook, now Northfield, beyond the Second Mountain, invited Mr. Runyon and others to preach at his house. They interested the people to such a degree that nine persons were baptised, all of whom joined the Lyons Farms congregation. They soon found it inconven- ient to attend religious services in a church so far from their homes, and for this reason took their dismissions from that church, and resolved to organize a new so- ciety. On April 9, 1786, eleven persons, including Dunham and his wife, were constituted as a church. In three years, though the population was sparse, the membership had increased to thirty-five. Morgan Ed- wards says that Moses Edwards, who was one of the eleven that were first baptised and who was made a deacon, was "remarkable for what is called in Scot- land 'second sight.' He foresaw who should fall at Springfield the day before the skirmish, and went to the persons and bid them prepare for death. He fore-
T. Morgan Edwards' Notes on the History of the Baptists in New Jersey. 2. Ibid.
220
History of the Oranges.
saw the soldier who stole his knapsack and the place where he hid it, and went to the officer of the guard to complain. The officer drew out his soldiers. Ed- wards challenged the thief. The thief confessed the act, and the knapsack was found in the place where Edwards said it would be. There are many instances and credible, from the character of the visionary and attestations of others." 1
In the early days of the church at Canoe Brook, the meetings were held in the old stone school-house, which occupied the site of the present school building. A few years later, the society bought a house with a lot of four and a half acres, and fitted up the old building as a place of worship, by removing the upper floor, and erecting a gallery. For the first year, it was served by temporary preachers. Though the congre- gation had increased in numbers, it was not yet able
to support a settled minister. After 1791, it was report- ed to the New York Association as a destitute church, and was occasionally supplied through its aid. Its first deacon, one of its original members, was licensed to preach in 1798. He had no learning and few books, but possessed "eminent natural gifts." From Mon- day morning until Saturday night he worked upon his farm, or wrought at his trade as a blacksmith; but on Sunday he entered the pulpit, without written notes, and often without previous study. The opened Bible suggested, at the moment, the text and the theme of his discourse. He received no stated salary. The voluntary contributions made by his people helped him to eke out a living. In these relations with the
I. We record this extract less to accept the honest convictions of the good narrator upon the supernatural, than to show that the little handful of Bap- tists at Canoe Brook, like the great numbers of their sect throughout East Jersey, were among the fighting patriots of the Revolution.
221
Baptist Church at Northfield.
church he remained until 1815, when he determined to migrate to Clermont, in Ohio. A contribution was made to provide an outfit for the departing pastor. He left his Jersey home, with two covered wagons, capacious enough for his family and household effects ; driving his own horses, by easy stages, through the mountain wilds of Pennsylvania and Ohio, which had been scathed by war and Indian ravages. He contin- ued to preach in Ohio until his death, in Bethel, May 4th, 1827, at the age of seventy one years.
During Mr. Edwards' ministry, a new meeting-house was built. It was dedicated on December 22d, 1801. The pastors succeeding him were: Rev. John Watson ; who was followed by Augustine Elliott, in 1821; Stille T. Randolph, in 1840; Isaac M. Church, in 1841 ; John H. Waterbury, in 1846 ; and again by Mr. Church.
The main highway from Newark to Hanover, in Morris County, passed through Northfield. But the hamlet did not grow rapidly. The highway was not much traveled. The church did not flourish. The Newark and Mt. Pleasant Turnpike, which was char- tered in 1806, offered a more direct communication with Morris County. It passed through the business centre of the township (Livingston,) and the centre was prospered while Northfield stagnated. Canoe Brook is nevertheless historic, and invites this memo- rial record of the first Baptist Church society in the Newark Mountains. Its centennial anniversary was celebrated two years ago. The historical sketch of the church, written by John R. Burnet in 1868, was read on that occasion. To it, and to Morgan Edwards' notes, is this writer indebted for the materials of this imperfect record.
The original name of the church at Canoe Brook was changed to Northfield Baptist Church, in 1801,
222
History of the Oranges.
when the society received its charter. In June, 1851, fourteen members of the society withdrew to consti- tute the Livingston Baptist Church. A house of wor- ship was erected near the centre of the township, and is still in use.
REV. ASA HILLYER, D.D.
After Mr. Chapman had closed his long and dis- tinguished pastorate, in August, 1800, the parish was without a settled minister for about fifteen months ; enjoying, for a season, the very acceptable services of Rev. Edward Dorr Griffin. It was the earnest wish of the people to have him for their permanent pastor. He was, however, called to the Newark Church, as col- league to Dr. Macwhorter, and he accepted the more desirable appointment.
The Rev. Asa Hillyer was then settled over the Presbyterian Church at Bottle Hill, (now Madison,) N. J. He had achieved success there ; both as a pas- tor, and as a preacher. He had also done good work as an evangelist. In 1798, he had, at the request of Aspitillyas the General Assembly, gone as a missionary into the wilderness of Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania. He was absent for nine weeks, and traveled more than nine hundred miles ; preaching nearly every day, and often twice a day, during the whole time. It is stated, that he preached the first Gospel sermon that was ever deliv- ered upon the site of the present city of Auburn, N. Y.
Because of the proximity of Orange to Bottle Hill, as well as because of Mr. Griffin's intimacy with Mr. Hillyer, the Orange people knew the latter well. He had frequently ministered in their pulpit. Many of them were personally acquainted with him. And, so,
223
Rev. Asa Hillyer, D. D.
they turned their attention to him, as a good substi- tute for the man whom they at first had desired. The call was made on October 20, 1801; and was signed Aaron Mun by Aaron Mun, Joseph Pierson, Junior, Thomas Williams, Daniel Wil- liams, Samuel Condit and Isaac Pierson, as trustees ; and by Joseph Pierson, Junior, Amos Harrison, John Perry, Aaron Mun, Linus Dodd and Henry Osborne, as elders. 1
Mr. Hillyer promptly accepted the call, and he was installed on December 16th, of the same year. ?
The then existing condition of affairs in the parish was in sharply-drawn contrast with that of the last years of the pastorate of Mr. Chapman. The adop- tion of the Constitution of the United States in 1787, had brought the States into harmonious relations with each other. The rancor of political strife was soft- ened ; and the blight of French infidelity, which had spread over the whole land, was giving place every- John perry where to purer moral impulses, and to a more elevated relig- ious sentiment. The years of peace, too, were bringing with them stability of purpose and increase of wealth. The varied arts of industry were prospered exceedingly. The general tone of the parish had undergone a marked change for the better, under the six months' ministerial services of Mr. Griffin. Concerning these services Mr. Hillyer
I. Orange Church Records.
2. The Church Records from 1800 to 1803 are lost. After the latter year they are complete, and show that the seed sown by Mr. Griffin yielded its fruit, in an abundant harvest, during the earlier years of Mr. Hillyer's ministry.
224
History of the Oranges.
wrote, long afterwards, to the author of the "Annals of the American Pulpit," as follows :
" In no situation perhaps was Dr. Griffin more entirely at home than in a revival of religion. It was my privilege often to be with him in such circumstances ; and I knew not which to admire most, the skill with which he wielded the sword of the spirit, or the child- like dependence which was evinced by his tender and fervent sup- plications. Though he was certainly one of the most accom- plished pulpit orators of his time-on these occasions especially, the power of his eloquence was lost sight of in the mighty effects which were produced. * He wrought so mightily on the religious principles and affections of his audience, that they had not the time, or scarcely the ability, to marvel at the exalted gifts with which these effects were associated." 1
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.